National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has officially announced the withdrawal of the contentious Land Laws (Amendment) (Number 2) Bill, 2023. The Bill, which proposed imposing land rent on freehold land and property owners, faced significant constitutional and legal challenges.
In a letter dated June 13 to Speaker Moses Wetangula, Ichung’wah emphasized that the Bill should no longer be considered due to these issues. “During the meeting of the House Business Committee, I had notified the Committee not to prioritize the consideration of the Bill to allow for consultations with the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the National Land Commission,” he wrote.
Ichung’wah further stated, “…the Executive had advised on the need for the ensuing issues to be addressed and resolved before further consideration of the Bill. Having consulted with the relevant stakeholders, this is now to confirm that the Majority Party has withdrawn the Bill. Consequently, I request that the House Business Committee be notified of the withdrawal of the Bill and that no further consideration of the Bill should be undertaken.”
The Bill, introduced by Ruiru MP Simon King’ara, sought to amend the Land Act of 2012 by adding a new section after Section 54. This section would require freehold landowners within urban areas or cities to pay an annual land levy similar to the land rent on comparable leasehold properties.
Additionally, the Bill could grant the Lands Cabinet Secretary the authority to acquire land compulsorily when deemed necessary by the county or national government. However, experts warned that such amendments could lead to many Kenyans losing their property to the government.
Dr. Mwenda Makathimo, Executive Director of the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI), highlighted that this would effectively tax Kenyans for owning urban land. “This means the government is charging you a tax for owning freehold land which is not government land. That is what this Act will bring. The land you might have inherited from your parents or land that you might have bought is freehold land,” he explained to Citizen TV.
Eva Makori, Acting Regional Coordinator for the International Land Coalition (ILC) Africa, added, “Imposing this annual levy on freehold property essentially converts it into leasehold property, risking the dispossession of many Kenyans who may not afford the levy, including Indigenous people whose lands are ancestral.”
Despite previous claims by Ichung’wah that such a Bill did not exist, Citizen TV confirmed that the Bill had progressed through all necessary stages in both the National Assembly and the Senate.