President William Ruto has announced plans to issue more than 200,000 title deeds to over one million families across the Coast region within the next three months as part of efforts to address longstanding land ownership disputes.
The President made the announcement on Thursday, May 21, during his five-day development tour of the coastal counties, a region that has for decades grappled with historical land injustices and squatter problems.
As part of the initiative, the Head of State directed the Ministry of Lands to immediately begin the subdivision and surveying of land to facilitate the issuance of title deeds to residents.
Mombasa residents receive title deeds as Ruto kicks off coast exercise. Photo: Courtesy.
He stated that the government intends to complete the land measurement process within 90 days before returning to oversee the distribution of title deeds to beneficiaries across the region.
On the same day, the president issued more than 35,000 title deeds to residents of Mombasa, officially launching the wider land ownership programme.
According to the government, the exercise will later be extended to Tana River, Kwale, Kilifi, Malindi, and Taita Taveta once the subdivision process is completed.
Ruto said the programme is aimed at ending the problem of landlessness at the Coast by ensuring residents obtain legal ownership documents for the land they occupy.
The issue of landlessness in the Coast region has persisted since independence in 1963, largely due to unresolved historical settlement issues, irregular land allocations, fraudulent title deeds, and increased privatisation linked to tourism and commercial development.
