Nyeri, Kenya – Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has issued a stern warning to government officers involved in fraudulent land deals. Speaking at the Gathiuru Forest Station during the National Tree Growing Day, Wahome identified land fraud as a major challenge within her ministry.
According to Kenya News Agency, the ministry has faced issues with land registration officers aiding in illegal land transactions, leading to numerous Kenyans losing their properties. She emphasized that any government officer found complicit in such activities would face serious consequences.
Wahome also committed to improving service delivery within the ministry, ensuring efficiency and accountability in line with the Kenya Kwanza manifesto. She highlighted her legal background as an asset in addressing the longstanding issue of illegal land transactions. The Cabinet Secretary led the planting of 10,000 tree seedlings at the Forest Station, which historically served as a Mau Mau operation zone. In 2017, the Director of Survey Cesare Mbaria reported that Kenyans were losing approximately Sh60 billion annually due to fraudulent land transactions.
On the topic of forest rehabilitation, Wahome urged officials and the public to engage in an aggressive tree planting campaign, aligning with President Dr. William Ruto’s directive to plant 15 billion trees by 2032. She declined a request by local MCA Charity Wangui to allow cultivation in rehabilitated land, emphasizing the importance of preserving natural forests for their ecosystems.
The government aims to plant 500 million tree seedlings nationwide by the end of the day. President Ruto is leading the national tree planting event at the Kiu Wetlands in Makueni, with similar activities planned across the 47 counties. The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has distributed 5.5 million tree seedlings since the launch of the Jaza Miti program last November, with a target of planting 10.6 million trees in Nyeri over the next five years.
The Jaza Miti initiative, a collaborative effort between Safaricom, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and other state ministries, aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032. The initiative includes the JazaMiti App, which helps users select suitable tree species for planting and track tree growth.
Nyeri County boasts a forest cover of 45.17 percent, significantly higher than the national average, and is committed to maintaining and enhancing this coverage.