State climb-down as proposed land law is withdrawn

The executive has yet again yielded to pressure and withdrawn the contentious Land Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which sought to impose land rent on freehold land owners and properties previously not taxed.

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has since written to Speaker Moses Wetangula announcing the withdrawal of the controversial bill.

The withdrawal comes on the heels of a similar move by the William Ruto administration to pull out the controversial Finance Bill, 2024.

The Land Laws Amendment Bill (2023) proposed introducing provisions requiring freehold landowners to pay an annual land levy, sparking considerable debate and opposition.

In a letter dated June 13, Ichung’wah says there are a myriad of constitutional and legal issues arising from the Bill and “no further consideration of the Bill should be undertaken.”

“During the meeting of the House Business Committee, I had notified the Committee not to prioritize the consideration of the Bill to allow for consultations with the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the National Land Commission,” it reads.

Ichungwa’h continues,” the Executive had further advised on the need for the ensuing issues to be addressed and resolved before further consideration of the Bill.

“Having consulted with the relevant stakeholders, this is now to confirm that the Majority Party has withdrawn the Bill. Consequently, I request that the House Business Committee be notified of the withdrawal of the Bill and that no further consideration of the Bill should be undertaken.”

The Bill, sponsored by Ruiru MP Simon King’ara and backed by the executive, sought to amend the Land Act of 2012 by inserting a new section immediately after Section 54, which states that the owner of any freehold land within the boundaries of any urban area or city shall pay an annual land levy equivalent to the land rent charged on a comparable leasehold property of the same size in the same zone.

It could give the Lands Cabinet Secretary power to acquire land compulsorily whenever the county or the national government determines a need to acquire a piece of land. There was however a lot of hue and cry with land experts warning that if enacted, the law could see thousands of land and property owners losing it to the government.

Dr Mwenda Makathimo, the Executive Director of the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI), said the proposed law meant imposing a tax on Kenyans for the single reason of being land owners.

Tax on Kenyans

“This means the government is charging you a tax for owning freehold land which is not government land. That is what this Act will bring. The land you might have inherited from your parents or land that you might have bought is freehold land,” Makathimo was quoted as saying.

The proposed law sparked protests and was criticised by even the National Land Commission (NLC) as amounting to double taxation.

Areas to be hard hit include Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado who neighour urban areas and the city even though most of it was ancestral land. While the Bill was already being processed by the National Assembly, its withdrawal coincided with the government’s backtracking on the Finance Bill after countrywide protests.

The Bill had been criticised as being part of the government’s alleged ravenous desire to raid the pockets of already overtaxed Kenyans for additional revenue to meet the budget targets.

The Bill sought to amend the Land Act, of 2012 by inserting the new levy after section 54 that would force freehold land owners, property owners who enjoy free ownership for perpetuity and can use the land for any purposes, to pay land rent.

Land tenure system

“The owner of any freehold land situated within the boundaries of any urban area or city shall pay an annual land levy equivalent to rant rent charged on a comparable leasehold land or property of the same size in the same zone, provided that any owner of freehold land that is put to agriculture use may be exempted from the annual land levy,’’ reads part of the withdrawn Bill.

Even the Committee on Lands of the National Assembly had expressed reservations on the piece of legislation instead seeking for more consultations among the stakeholders.

“Land is very emotive. We realised after public participation that we needed to first clean up the land tenure system before processing the Bill because of its far-reaching recommendations,’’ said Joash Nyamoko, the committee chairman.

Last December, MPs voted to shorten the Bill’s publication period from 14 days to one day to allow its prompt introduction in the house, in a bid to fast track its passage.