Lands Ministry to rebuild missing property records in Nairobi, Nakuru

The Ministry of Lands has moved to reconstruct missing registers for properties in Nairobi and Nakuru after official records for some parcels were declared untraceable.

Notices in the Kenya Gazette show that land belonging to Maendeleo Ya Wanawake in Nakuru and Riverside Mansions (Management) Limited in Nairobi are among the affected properties.

The ministry explained that evidence presented confirms that the registers for the two parcels cannot be found, prompting action under Section 33(5) of the Land Registration Act.

The Nakuru property, listed as Nakuru Municipality Block 21/469, covers about 0.52 hectares and is registered under Maendeleo Ya Wanawake.

A separate notice detailed that the Nairobi property, L.R. No. 991/17, is owned by Riverside Mansions (Management) Limited and was registered through a certificate of title issued earlier.

"Whereas Riverside Mansions (Management) Limited, of P.O. Box 3887-00200, Nairobi in the Republic of Kenya, is registered as proprietor of all that parcel of land, known as L.R. No. 991/17, situated in the city of Nairobi in the Nairobi Area, by virtue of a certificate of title, registered as I.R. 49827/1, and whereas sufficient evidence has been adduced to show that the said land register issued thereof has been lost, notice is given that after the expiration of sixty (60) days from the date hereof, the property register shall be reconstructed under provisions of section 33 (5) of the Act provided that no objection has been received within that period," part of the notice stated.

Another notice read: "Whereas Maendeleo Ya Wanawake is registered as the proprietor of all that piece of land, containing 0.5200 hectares or thereabouts, known as Nakuru Municipality Block 21/469, situated in the district Nakuru, and whereas sufficient evidence has been adduced to show that the said land register issued thereof has been lost, notice is given that after the expiration of sixty (60) days from the date hereof, I intend to proceed with the reconstruction of the land register under section 33(5) of the Act, provided that no objection has been received within that period."

Once the 60-day period elapses without objections, the records will be reconstructed and restored in the government’s official system to ensure continued recognition of the proprietors.

The announcement is expected to spark debate, given Kenya’s history of fraudulent land dealings and double allocation of property.

Past cases have shown how missing records created loopholes for unlawful transfers of valuable land.

This development also comes as the government pushes ahead with digitisation reforms to phase out manual records, which have long been prone to tampering and misplacement.

The ministry has maintained that digitisation will play a key role in tackling fraud and restoring order in land management.