The National Assembly Committee on Lands has decried the slow compensation pace of Kenyan households displaced by government-undertaken projects such as construction of roads and other strategic infrastructure.

The MPs led by Committee Chairperson and North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko raised these concerns during a meeting with officials from the National Land Commission (NLC) for review of the 2025 Budget Policy Statement (BPS).

Kitui-South MP Rachael Nyamai kicked off this storm citing an example of persons displaced by the Kibwezi- Mutumo Road in Kitui County who were yet to be compensated seven years since the Commissioning of the project by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, when several households voluntarily vacated their land to pave way for the project.

The MP noted that several elderly persons had even passed on while still awaiting their compensation, while many households had been plunged into poverty, with some unable to pay huge medical bills for chronically ill family members.

NLC officials led by the Chairperson Gershom Otachi and CEO Kabale Tache, said several other compensations were pending due to unavailability of funds and the failure by other state agencies including the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to release the necessary funds, with several court cases still ongoing regarding contention on ownership of some parcels of land due for compensation.

Kabale, cited an incident related to the Kibwezi- Mutumo Road where an elderly lady still awaiting compensation was due to travel to India for specialised cancer treatment but was yet to receive her compensation.

“People come to NLC expecting their compensation then when they get there we have no money to compensate them. It is very disheartening that even in the case of that elderly lady, we had to go out of our way to clear her medical bill. She came there several times I cannot even tell if she is still alive,” recounted Kabale.

In the BPS, the NLC budget ceiling in the coming financial year 2025/2026 has been capped at Sh3.01 billion which is an increase of 69.1 per cent compared to the allocation of Sh1.78 billion in the 2024/2025 Financial Year.