The Ministry of Lands | Republic of Kenya

SECRETARY: Mr. Z. A. Mabea

SUMMARY
The Land Arbitration Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body established under Section 147 of the Government Lands Act Cap.280 (GLA) for the purpose of hearing and determining any disputes arising under the Act.

The Tribunal consists of a Chairman and four members who are professionally qualified people on legal and land matters. The Tribunal was appointed to serve for a period of 3 years and during its tenure has held 51 sittings and disposed off many objections (see table below)

The Tribunal has mainly concentrated on finalising the 1988 Land Rent Revision objections by the Lessees/grantees of Government Land. The objections were given priority owing to the fact that they have a bearing on the level of revenue collection by the Ministry.

The Tribunal has been able to come up with recommendations both administrative and legal on proper implementation of Land Rent Revisions.

Achievements
Tthe Tribunal during its tenure has been able to achieve the following:

a) Created an arbitral process for dispute resolution that has been accepted and would provide a basis for future decisions.
b) Heard and determined 87 Land objections cases.
c) Drafted rules of procedure for the Tribunal.

Background

When the Government revised land rent for its leasehold plots (commercial and industrial) in 1988, there was no provision for a systematic mode of handling disputes and objections that would arise for the exercise by aggrieved lessees/grantees. There only existed a provision in section 147 of Government Lands Act(Cap.280) for a reference to arbitration. Section 147 as it was before its amendment in 1999, provided that Government and the disputants choose and agree on an arbitrator or arbitrators as provided for in the Arbitration Act. This method is unwieldy and cumbersome for several reasons:

• Choosing, proposing, and counter proposing an arbitrator is a lengthy process, and may be an endless affair sometimes;
• Various arbitrators for the various disputes would give widely varying awards for apparently similar plots/cases resulting in lack of uniformity;
• Costs may be uncontrollable; and,
• There would be a lack of continuity.

1999 GLA (Amendment) Act
It therefore became apparent that a better system of handling disputes had to be formulated. It was also becoming very urgent that the objections raised to the 1988 valuations for land rent revision be dealt with in order to enhance revenue collection on a firm legal basis. This is what gave rise to the 1999 GLA (Amendment) Act, which amended section 147 to provide for the establishment of a Tribunal. An arbitral body was ideal for the exercise, as it would provide consistency in its decisions, have a known timeframe and it would also provide a basis and repository for future decisions, in this type of disputes.

Inauguration of Land Arbitration Tribunal
After the amendment of section 147 in the 1999 Finance Act, the Land Arbitration Tribunal (LAT) was appointed by the then Minister for Lands and Settlement in January 2001 in the Kenya Gazette Notice No. 102 dated 12 January 2001 for a term of 3 years. The body was subsequently inaugurated on 6th March 2001. Since then the Tribunal has been busy carrying out its mandate as specified in the Government Lands Act (GLA).

Composition
Advocate of the High Court - Chairman
Valuer - Member
Estate Agent - Member
Farmer - Member
Businessman - Member

Before the Tribunal was appointed, a secretariat had already been set up to operationalize it. Also, it is to be noted that there were no existing Rules of Procedure under which the body was to operate and the Tribunal had to draft those rules accordingly, which are now with the Minister for approval and signature before Gazettement.

The Tribunals’ Secretariat
The current Secretariat is the facilitator of the functions of the two Tribunals: Land Acquisition Compensation and the Land Arbitration. The Secretariat sends out letters, notices and prepares for meetings, mentions and hearings. It is also the link between the Tribunals and the Ministry of Lands. It receives memoranda and notices in connection with appeals and objections and circulates them to the parties. It is also carries out other necessary administrative functions such as payments to members and purchases of office requirements for the Tribunals.

MANDATE
In 1999 the GLA was amended as already mentioned to provide for the establishment of the LAT, whose function is to

Deal with any disputes arising under the Act, which would otherwise be referred to arbitration.

It will be recalled that in establishing the LAT it was the very first time that section 147 was being applied, as amended. Before this amendment, any disputes were to be handled under the Arbitration Act – see section 18B of the 1988 GLA Amendments. As at now it is specifically provided for that objections to the 1988 rent revision are dealt with by the Land Arbitration Tribunal. However, other disputes under the GLA are also to be referred to the Tribunal so long as the Government and the affected disputing party agree to arbitration. So basically, the mandate of the Tribunal is to determine disputes under the GLA, Cap 280 laws of Kenya. Looking ahead one can envisage parties coming to the Tribunal for the determination of disputes on Government land allocations, valuations, etc. It should be noted here that this Tribunal is different from the Land Disputes Tribunals based in the Districts, which deal with disputes on freehold lands under the Registered Land Cap 300.

Current Work
Currently the Tribunal has concentrated on finalizing the 1988 Land Rent Revision Objections, which were filed by the landowners in 1988/89 against the Government. This is a priority area as it involves collection of land revenue and there had been a delay in processing these objections.

Mode of Operations
The Tribunal receives submissions from objectors (lessees/grantees of Government land) and respondents (Commissioner of Lands) in the form of memorandums, valuation reports and other statements. When all the documents are received and are in order, Mention and Hearing dates will be fixed and the parties given a Notice to attend accordingly. During the hearing the parties will argue their case orally and call any expert witnesses and other relevant evidence. After finalizing the hearing(s) the Tribunal will take time to evaluate the submissions made in the matter. A decision will then be reached by consensus or by majority vote when an Arbitral Award (i.e. a judgment) will be delivered on the objection. No appeals are available from these decisions of the Tribunal unless the matter involves an issue under section 75 of the Kenya Constitution.

Cases
The Lands Department had in its register, which it forwarded to the Tribunal, some 599 Objections. The Secretariat went through the register, sieved and compiled them appropriately. This resulted in about half of the original number, about 381, being confirmed as cases of objections for processing. This apparent reduction in the number is due to:

1. Duplications of plot numbers or repetition of the same objection
2. Errors, e.g. residential plots, freehold plots, religious sites being included
3. Changes in the status of the land, e.g. subdivisions, lease extensions.

Of the 381 objections, the majority are in Nairobi City (288), followed by Coast (39), Rift Valley (26) Central (24) and Nyanza – Kisumu (4). A total of 163 objections are being processed/finalized and a summary of the current status of these objections is as follows:

EXPERIENCES
In the course of its work the Tribunal has been able to come up with various observations. Some of these have already been forwarded to the Ministry/Department.

The following have already been pointed out to the Lands Department:

1. The issuing and serving of the land rent revision Notices to landowners
2. The yet to be done but overdue 1998 Land Rent Revision
3. Updating of the Rent Cards with the revised rent amounts
4. Laxity/lateness in replying to notices from the Tribunal and Objectors
5. Inadequacy in the Ministry in dealing with legal opinions
6. Public awareness

THE LAND ARBITRATION TRIBUNAL MEMBERS: 2001-2004

1. Mrs. R.O.A Otieno Chairperson……………………….

2. Mr. Joshua Chemoigut Member……… ……………

3. Mr. Jeremiah N. Kioni Member ……………………….

4. Mr. Alfred N. Mwaniki Member ………………………..

5. Mr. Albert Kimwatan Member …………………………..

Secretary - Z. A. Mabea

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