National Land Commission (NLC) and Natural Justice today held a meeting to explore areas of partnership.
The two institutions set out to establish common working areas especially on Historical Land Injustices (HLI), compulsory acquisition of land and land registration.
The meeting which was chaired by Commissioner Prof. James Tuitoek resolved to prioritize the Ogiek hearings and determination and also look into Kilifi claims and absentee landlords issues.
“As a Commission, we are committed to clearing our tables of the Ogiek case and also Kilifi which registered the highest cases for admissibility,” said Tuitoek.
Through the meeting, it was agreed that the two institutions would jointly carry out legal aid clinics and civic education.
It was established that there is a need for claimants to understand the basis of their cases being inadmissible and be advised on redress and legal representation.
Ag. CEO Kabale Tache expressed concern over the vague understanding of the entire HLI process by claimants.
“Our key challenge is communities understanding the entire process from admissibility to verification to actual hearings and final determination, we would appreciate your partnership in this area,” said Kabale.
The two institutions mutually agreed to work on a formula that would allow for cases in the same region to be heard at the same time and determinations made before moving to the next region.
Natural Justice Director East Africa Hub Nyaguthii Chege explained the significance of the legal empowerment process to claimants, especially during Historical Land Injustice (HLI) hearings.
Additionally, she explained that the development of simple information, education and communication materials for claimants would come in handy for the latter’s preparedness before the hearings.
Also attending the meeting were Director and Head Historical Land Injustices Secretariat Mercy Njamwea, Deputy Director Land Information Management Dr Samuel Nthuni as well as Natural Justice Programme Manager East Africa Hub Sophie Adhiambo amongst other officials.