Uncollected title deeds a recipe for land disputes in Homa Bay

Stakeholders have blamed land disputes in Homa Bay on the failure by residents to collect title deeds.

In the last two weeks, the county had 18,810 uncollected land title deeds.

The County Lands Register, Edward Bosire, noted that the uncollected title deeds have reduced to 11,310 in the last week.

Out of the 7,500 land title deeds distributed recently, 2,767 were distributed at Ratang’a Trading Centre in Ndhiwa Sub-County last Thursday, while the rest in Rangwe Sub-county.

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Bosire expressed concern that many residents apply for the document but fail to collect it after processing.

“We have many land title deeds which have not been collected from our office. Failure to collect the title deeds results in land disputes because perpetrators take advantage of the absence of the land ownership document,” he said.

The County Lands Register also expressed concern that some people buy land but leave it idle.

“Absentee landlords are the main challenge affecting us in Homa Bay County. They don’t fence the land and leave it without caretakers,” Bosire said.

The Programs Director at Habitat for Humanity Kenya, Nixon Otieno, said his organisation facilitates various activities to ensure residents get title deeds.

This includes liaising with the Ministry of Lands officials to speed the processing of title deeds.

Habitat for Humanity Kenya also facilitates outreach programmes to ensure land title deeds are transported from the County Land Registrar's office to residents in their villages. This helps to reduce costs for vulnerable families.

Otieno said their work is not only to provide vulnerable groups with shelter but also to enable them to own land.

“Our work is widely known to provide vulnerable families with houses. But we are also ensuring that such families own land. This explains our commitment to land title deeds distribution outreaches,” he said.

Otieno said secure land tenure enhances the development of the society.

Advocacy Lead at Habitat for Humanity Kenya, Millicent Adhiambo, said they also focus on enabling women to acquire title deeds.

She said this ensures women have access to safe, decent, and adequate shelter besides secure land tenure.

Adhiambo emphasized that this is a transformative step in a region where cultural practices have historically limited women’s access to land.

“Habitat for Humanity Kenya is fostering a future where women can thrive and participate actively in initiating development in the society,” she said.