NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 21- The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has deployed 26 new officers to the newly formed Land Fraud Investigations Unit to help in tackling persistent land issues in the country.
DCI George Kinoti said he had sanctioned far reaching reforms in the unit by among others deploying the detectives with professional background in land survey, land economics, land physical planning and administration among other relevant fields.
“This move is meant to inject new blood and professionalize the unit, to undertake investigations of land cases that are complex in nature,” he said.
He added the detectives who were carefully selected and vetted, possess the requisite skills relevant to the investigation of frauds related to land.
“They will enhance the unit’s capacity to investigate land cases expeditiously and advise on the appropriate legal action to be taken.
These reforms have been made ahead of the roll out of the new lands digital migration program.”
The unit is among newly gazetted ones under the amended National Police Service Standing Orders.
Cases of land fraud are piling up on a daily basis in various police stations with little or no solutions.
This has prompted the formation of the unit.
The detectives will now be liaising with the National Land Commission in their investigations.
This comes ahead of planned title conversion process to ensure compliance with the Lands Registration Act.
This will weed out fake title deeds in circulation.
The law requires that land owners make applications for replacement of the title documents from the closed registers.
This will likely lead to investigations on some of the documents.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney said the aim of the process is to collapse land registration processes in the repealed land registration laws into one with all titles issued under the repealed laws cancelled and replaced with titles under the Land Registration Act, 2012.
She said the cancellation and replacement will migrate the parcels to the new regime while retaining the ownership, size and the other interest registered against the respective title.
It will lead to the full use of Registry Index Maps (RIMs) as registration instruments, replacing the deed plans further minimising land fraud.
Boundaries, as well, will not be affected since RIMs are generated from survey plans with fixed boundaries.
Both the RIMs and the survey plans are accessible to land owners on request for verification of boundary details at the Survey of Kenya Headquarters, Ruaraka.
“The RIMs display all land parcels within an area as opposed to a deed plan that captures data on one specific parcel. It is thus easy to note any change or alteration,” said Karoney.
It is aimed at having a centralised land registration process eliminating fraud, delays in service delivery and threats to the right to property in the process.
“Title documents held by third parties including banks, hospitals, and courts as security at the time of commencement shall be replaced upon application by the proprietor. The general public is advised to take note of the converted parcel numbers,” she said.
The conversion process will entail preparation of cadastral maps together with a conversion list indicating new and old numbers for parcels of land within a registration unit or registration section/ block and their corresponding acreages.
Under regulation 4(4) of the Land Registration (Registration Units) Order, 2017, the cadastral maps together with a conversion list will be published in the Kenya Gazette and two daily newspapers with the notice specifying a date to be the date after which the register shall be open to the public for transactions or dealings within the registration unit.
Thereafter, any person with an interest in land in the registration unit shall lodge a complaint to the registrar who shall resolve the same within 90 days of receipt.
All registers shall be closed and all transactions carried out in the new register.
However, all the closed registers and supporting documents shall be maintained in the new registration unit.
Want to send us a story? Contact Shahidi News Tel: +254115512797 (Mobile & WhatsApp)
