Kajiado elders formalise ancestral ownership after years in limbo

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Elders from the Ilkitoip age set in Kajiado South have received title deeds to the land they held without formal ownership for years.

The deeds were issued at a ceremony in Noomaiyanat, Kimana Ward, converting a long-held communal arrangement into legally recognised individual ownership.

State House Comptroller Katoo Ole Metito, who attended the ceremony, disclosed that he had worked alongside the elders during the initial land acquisition that preceded the formalisation over the years.

"Land is not merely property; it is our heritage, our identity," said Ole Metito.

He said the title deeds secure economic stability for the elders and preserve the cultural identity of the Maa community.

The issuance comes against a backdrop of longstanding tension in Kajiado over the formalisation of customary land rights, with Kenya's Community Land Act of 2016 reigniting debates around tenure security and prompting many Maa group ranches to convert communal land into private, individualised parcels.

Individuals holding land under group ranch arrangements have no title deeds recognised in law, and the national or county government holds any unregistered public or trust land.

The government has previously cautioned the Maa community against selling ancestral land, warning that the trend risked leaving the community as squatters on its own heritage.