Environment Cabinet Secretary nominee Aden Duale has pledged to revoke several title deeds for forest land acquired through grabbing and encroachment.
Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, Duale acknowledged that he was aware of several lands that had been grabbed belonging to big people in government, including the Members of Parliament and conservancies.
He said if he is approved by the committee in his first 30 days in office, he will revoke all title deeds for grabbed land. This, he said, includes the 66 acres of Oloolua Forest land located in Kajiado County near the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority.
“If this House approves me, in the first 30 days, working with the Minister of Lands and other government agencies, a number of titles, including those belonging to big people in government and some of the Members of Parliament, will be revoked,” he warned.
Duale warned that those who illegally encroach on forests will face consequences, regardless of their social status or profile.
“I will revoke all of them, and I’m ready to bear the consequences, particularly on the Oloolua Forest. I have been briefed and listened to experts, and I have seen it’s been deliberate in the last two years. Some people got illegal title deeds, and it will be the first place I visit with the Committee on Environment where some of its members might be casualties.”
He asserted that he would also consolidate all land petitions, both genuine and fake, and present them before the Cabinet, where the next course of action would be taken.
“There are a number of petitions touching on grabbed forest land. Part of the forest has been put to use for agriculture and even government offices across the country. The history of forest being grabbed/ encroached on is as old as the Republic of Kenya. If this house approves me, the first thing is to consolidate all the petitions dealt with or not dealt with by Parliament. These include the genuine ones and those out of fraud. I will gently deliver a memo to the Cabinet so that it can make a decision on this matter,” he said.
MPs wondered whether Duale had a list of the alleged land grabbers and asked if he would release it. However, the CS nominee said that he would coordinate with relevant dockets to trace the alleged individuals.
