Natural Justice, in conjunction with the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas and the Working Group on Oil and Gas, recently submitted comments to the Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources, Kenya, on the Land Value Index Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The Bill proposes significant changes to the process of compulsory acquisition of land in Kenya.
Two of the most concerning aspects of the Bill are:
- Preventing a court from stopping any development in the land, once the National Land Commission has taken possession of the land and public funds have been committed to the project; and
- Allowing the National Land Commission to formally take land prior to any compensation being paid.
The first is clearly unconstitutional. The second will no doubt have significant impacts on those whose livelihoods are dependent on their lands.
Our submissions on the Bill can be found here.
http://www.naturaljustice.org/
