President wraps up Phase One of transformative initiative to end historical land injustices in the Coast

GARSEN, TANA RIVER, October 3, 2026

Land ownership has been the most painful, unresolved promise of Kenya's independence struggle.

While the primary objective of the fight for liberation was to regain ownership of ancestral lands, that dream turned into a historical injustice in regions across the country, most notably the Coast.

In 2022, President William Ruto made a specific pledge to provide a solution for the perennial squatter problem and related land tenure issues in the coastal counties of Kwale, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Mombasa, Lamu and Tana River.

In May this year, the Head of State directed the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning to embark on a Rapid Response Initiative aimed at transitioning hundreds of thousands of residents from squatters to legal landowners. This initiative is underscored by concrete policy steps, compensating absentee landlords holding ownership documents for land already occupied by squatters and unlocking all bureaucratic bottlenecks that have historically contributed to the denial of land rights to citizens.

The President also directed that the absentee landlords should not use the initiative to gain unfair windfalls, a caution he reiterated on Friday when he spoke at the Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa.

The initiative was designed to be delivered in two streamlined phases with a target of 300,000 title deeds in the first phase and 200,000 in the second phase, adding up to a total of 500,000 titles by the end of December.

This week, the President went on a whirlwind development tour of the region, during which he presided over the direct handover of hundreds of thousands of ownership documents to beneficiaries in the six counties.

The President issued titles in Kwale County on Monday; on Tuesday he issued titles in Kilifi County; on Thursday he did a similar exercise in Taita Taveta and on Friday he issued titles to beneficiaries in Mombasa.

Today, President Ruto wrapped up the first phase of this historic and transformative plan by issuing title deeds to beneficiaries in Lamu and Tana River counties.

In all the counties, beneficiaries showed up before daybreak to receive their title deeds. Their testimonies shared a common experience, with many narrating how they were born into squatter families and lived with the constant trepidation of leaving behind their children in the same vulnerable state.

The beneficiaries of the exercise included some of the most prominent faces in the country including the Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Kenya Hon Amason Kingi who comes from Kilifi County.

While welcoming the President to the podium on Tuesday in Kilifi, Hon Kingi said he was going to join the line of residents who had queued up to collect their titles so that he can also pick his. He said that even though he held high ranking offices as a Member of Parliament, Governor and now as Speaker of the Senate, it is only President Ruto's Administration that has succeeded in unlocking the barriers to obtaining a title for his land. Another prominent leader who gave personal and family testimonies was Taita Taveta County Governor Andrew Mwadime.

In Lamu, President Ruto issued 20,189 titles while in Tana River.

"This land is yours. No Government will ever come to take it away from you. Today, we are issuing 20,189 title deeds as we correct historical injustices and restore dignity to our people. The Government has paid the full cost of surveying and processing these titles, and before December, I will return to Lamu to issue more titles and complete the work of resolving the squatter problem," said the President at Lamu.

In Lamu, titles were issued for Vipingoni, Mtangawanda, Shanga Rubu and Shanga Shakani, Hidabo, Muhamarani, Bahari and Community Land Certificates to communities in Rubu, Mwambore, Simambae, Mvundeni and Ashwei.

In Tana River County, President Ruto issued 4,500 titles for beneficiaries from Hola Town, Garsen Town, Bubesa, Galili, Kondertu, Wachakone, Chewani and Makamburini.

He said he will come to the county to issue more ownership documents in December.

"The titles we have issued since Monday will benefit 300,000 people in this region. I will come back in December to issue another 200,000," said Ruto.

Lands CS Hon Alice Wahome, while speaking at Mokowe, said, "Alongside the issuance of these title deeds, the Government is investing in transformative projects that will unlock the economic potential of this county, including major infrastructure, affordable housing and other strategic developments. We have committed KSh 6 billion to affordable housing in this county."

Lands and Physical Planning PS Hon Generali Nixon Korir said, “I thank the President for keeping his promise to the people of the Coast. We are happy to support him in solving the longstanding land ownership problem and restoring dignity to our people.”

While speaking at Garsen in the afternoon, PS Korir said, "We are committed to implement all the directives by the President on titling. We are ready to ensure to process another 200,000 titles by December so that we reach the target of 500,000 titles," 

During his extensive tour of the region, the President was accompanied by a high-ranking delegation including Cabinet Secretaries, Governors, Principal Secretaries, Members of Parliament and many other Government officials.

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