Kwale residents return land titles issued to them by President Ruto over irregularity claims

A section of Kwale County residents have handed back land ownership documents recently issued by the national government, pointing to serious discrepancies, disputed boundaries, and unexpected financial demands.

According to the affected locals, several ownership certificates stipulate that extra charges must be settled before the titles become fully valid. This contradicts initial assurances from state officials that all processing fees had been cleared prior to the handover.

“Our deeds explicitly state that they are incomplete until certain fees are settled, yet we were told everything had been paid for during the handover ceremony. Because these documents look defective, we have decided to surrender them,” said John Kassim, a local resident from Lungalunga.

Financial institutions have also cast doubt on the paperwork. Some beneficiaries reported that commercial banks declined to accept the newly-issued titles as collateral for loans, citing questions over their legal standing and appraised value.

Beyond the hidden costs and documentation issues, residents raised alarms over plot dimensions. Many discovered that their assigned acreage was far smaller than the ancestral land they have cultivated for generations. In several instances, families that previously held large tracts were allocated plots measuring merely 50 by 100 feet.

The community also flagged arbitrary subdivisions, noting that growing households were crammed onto fragmented parcels while some indigenous occupants were omitted entirely from the registry.

The unrest stems from an ambitious land titling initiative launched in October by President William Ruto, who distributed more than 94,000 title deeds across Kwale County—including over 26,000 in Lunga Lunga Constituency.

The programme forms part of a wider pledge to deliver 500,000 titles across the Coast region by late 2026 to resolve historic squatter grievances.

With tensions mounting, the residents are urging President Ruto to step in personally, revoke the compromised documents, and ensure that accurate, unencumbered titles matching their genuine land holdings are issued.