Private Land and Landholding by non-citizens

Private land

Private land consists of registered land held by any person under any freehold term and held by any person under leasehold term and any other land declared private land under an Act of Parliament.

Landholding by non-citizens

A person who is not a citizen may hold land on the basis of leasehold term only, and any such lease, however granted, shall not exceed ninety-nine years.

If provision of any agreement, deed, transport or document of any nature claims to confer on a person who is not a citizen an interest in land, greater than 99 years lease, the condition will be regarded as giving the person a 99 year leasehold interest and no more.

A body company will be regarded as a citizen only if the body company is completely owned by one or more citizens and a property and held in trust will be regarded as being held by a citizen only if all the beneficial interest of the trust is held by the people who are citizens. The parliament may perform legislation to make further conditions for the operation.

Community Land

Community land will put in and be held by communities identified on the basis of ethnicity, culture or similar community of interest.

Community Land is:

· Land lawfully registered in the name of group representatives under the provisions of any law.

· Land lawfully transferred to a specific community by any process of law.

· Any unregistered community land will be held in trust by country governments on behalf of the communities for which it is held.

· Community land will not be disposed of or otherwise used except in terms of legislation specifying the nature and extent of the rights of members of each community individually and collectively.

· The Parliament will enact legislation to give effect to this article.

Other land that is declared to be community land by an Act of Parliament and land that is:

· Lawfully held, managed or used by specific communities as a community forests, grazing areas of shrines.

· Ancestral lands and lands traditionally occupied by hunter gather communities or lawfully held as trust land will b held in trust by country governments, but not including any public land held in trust by the country government.

Public Land

Public land is:

· Land lawfully held, used or occupied by any State organ, apart from any land that is occupied by the State organ as a resident.

· Land that is transferred to the State by way of sale, decline or surrendering.

· Land in respect of which no individual or community ownership can be recognized by any legal process.

· Land in respect of which no descendant can be recognized by any legal process.

· Land of all minerals and mineral oils are defined by the law.

· Land in which all roads and thoroughfares mentioned by an Act of Parliament.

· Land in which all rivers, lakes and other water bodies are defined by an Act of Parliament.

· Land where the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone and the sea bed is located.

· The continental shelf.

· All land between the high and low water marks.

· Any land not classified as private of community land under this constitution and any other land declared to be public land by an Act of Parliament in force at the effective date or performed after the effective date.

· Public Land will vest in and be held by a country government in trust for the people, residents in the country and will be administered on their behalf by the National Land Commission if it is classified, under clause and clause other than land held, used or occupied by a national state organ.

· Public land is classified under the clause that will vest in and be held by the national government in trust for the people of Kenya and will be administered on their behalf by the National Land Commission.

· Public land will not be disposed of or otherwise used except in terms of an Act of Parliament stating the nature and terms of that clearance or use.

Classification of Land

All the Land in Kenya belongs to the Kenyan Citizens collectively as a nation, as communities and as individuals. The Land in Kenya is classified as Public Land, Community Land or Private Land.

Principles of Land Policy

Land in Kenya should be held, used and managed in a manner that is evenhanded, well-organized, valuable and sustainable, and in agreement with the following principles:

• · Fair access to land
• · Security of land rights
• · Land resources should be used sustainably and productively
• · Visible and cost effective administration of land
• · Maintenance and protection of ecologically sensitive areas
• · Discrimination in law, customs and practices related to land and property should be stopped.
• · Encouragement of communities to settle land disputes through recognized local community initiatives consistent with this constitution.

These ideas should take the form of a national land policy and gone over by the government regularly.