Murang’a Mjini residents get title deeds after 100 years of waiting

Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria during the commissioning of surveying of Mjini land in 2016 to pave way for land titling after decades of waiting. Residents of Mjini are now set to get title deeds. PHOTO | MARTIN MWAURA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Governor Wa Iria said he is not issuing the leases to win votes from the community but to see the county grow.
  • He said the process that started one year ago with planning of the area was free and fair.
  • Mr Omari Abudu said for a long time they felt neglected with no road or any meaningful development in Mjini.

Thousands of Mjini residents in Murang’a County will Friday get title deeds after over 100 years of waiting.

According to Governor Mwangi Wa Iria, Murang’a county government had commissioned the surveying of the land to pave way for land titling after decades of waiting.

Speaking in Murang’a Town, Mr Wa Iria said they had embarked on a programme to issue land leases to the Mjini community who have occupied the land since 1890 but have never developed it due to lack of the important document.

Governor Wa Iria said he is not issuing the leases to win votes from the community but rather to see the county grow.

He said this will offer security of land tenure that is pivotal in opening up the area for commercial ventures and precisely in real estate.

FREE AND FAIR

He said the process that started one year ago with planning of the area was free and fair adding that they had surveyed and put beacons on the land.

Launching the exercise early 2016, Mr Wa Iria said everything was in place, promising to give them the leases before this year’s Christmas, a promise he has kept.

The county boss noted that despite the strategic situation of Mjini, the area has lagged behind owing to informal occupation as they could not leverage on economic growth due to lack of relevant papers.

Mjini estate, which is at the heart of Murang’a Town had turned into a slum due to the semi-permanent houses built there as the owners could not construct permanent ones due to lack of ownership documents.

ELUSIVE LEASES

“The leases have been elusive for the last two centuries since the time of their great grandparents,” Governor Wa Iria remarked.

“Lack of development in Mjini is not only a disadvantage to Mjini residents only but was also a constraint in terms of growth to the county government,” he added.

The residents narrated how they have looked for the vital documents in vain since independence with each regime ignoring their pleas.

Mr Omari Abudu said for a long time they felt neglected with no road or any meaningful development in Mjini.

“The roads are still the same as the colonialists left them,” he said.

Mr Abudu traced the history of Mjini to 1884 noting that their great grandparents were porters from Mombasa who had carried goods for Francis Hall, the first colonial governor of Murang’a.