SOAS Research Online

Abstract

In 1956 the colonial government of Kenya embarked upon a programme of land consolidation and registration in the Native Lands, subsequently known as the Special Areas. Although the programme initially made little headway outside the Kikuyu Land Unit, it has, since Kenya became independent in 19631 been presented with great vigour and now covers all but the most thinly populated areas of the country. From the outset the objectives of the programme have been various, political, social and economic, and although it has not been warmly welcomed in all areas of Kenya, it is generally considered to have been a success. It is the aim of this thesis to examine the operation of the programme and to assess its success in terms of its proclaimed objectives. While the thesis is written by a lawyer and necessarily relies to a considerable extent on traditional legal materials, the subject demands an inter disciplinary approach; it is impossible wholly to divorce legal issues from those of a political, social or economic nature. Indeed, at its most general, this is a study of the interaction of law and society, and the land consolidation and registration programme can be seen as an ambitious piece of social engineering. After an introductory chapter the process of land adjudication is examined as it was seen to operate in two areas of Kenya, one (chapter II) where individual titles were registered and one (chapter III) where group titles were registered. Chapters IV, V and VI deal with the consequences of land registration, the problems to which it has given rise and the successes which it has achieved. Finally chapter VIII looks at the land control system in Kenya, a system which is designed to further official land policies and could profoundly affect the working of the land registration programme. The law is stated as at December 31st, 1974.