Kenya: Reinstatement of National Land Commission’s ability to review title deeds and accept historical land injustices claims

The National Land Commission (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 2025 (NLC Amendment Act) which came into effect on 4 November 2025, re-opens the ability of the National Land Commission (NLC) to:

  • continue the review of grants and dispositions over public land granted to any person prior to 27 August 2010, when the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 was promulgated. Initially, this review was to be undertaken by May 2017 and had been closed; and
  • continue to accept and consider historical land injustice claims. Initially these claims were to be lodged by September 2021.

An overview of the key provisions of the NLC Amendment Act

Review of grants and dispositions – Re-opened for the next five years, an NLC decision can be registered as a court order

The new section dealing with review of grants and dispositions, reinstates the NLC’s authority to review grants and dispositions of public land issued before 27 August 2010. The NLC may initiate such reviews on its own motion or upon a complaint by a national or county government, a community, or an individual, and must complete the exercise within five years, subject to possible extension by Parliament. The new law also expressly anchors the process within the principles of fair administrative action and natural justice, requiring that all affected persons be given notice, an opportunity to be heard, and access to relevant documentation, in terms of the Fair Administrative Act.

After hearing the parties, the NLC must make a determination which, if it finds that the title was unlawfully acquired, will result in a directive to the Registrar to revoke the title. If the title was found to have been irregularly acquired, the NLC is empowered to take appropriate corrective measures and issue consequential orders.

However, no revocation shall be effected against a bona fide purchaser for value without notice. The NLC Amendment Act has introduced provisions that permit the registration of the NLC’s determination in the High Court and enforcement of the decision, upon reviewing the grants and dispositions. This is a significant change as under the old law, the NLC was to:

  • make recommendations to the land registrar for revocation of any title deed they deemed to have been acquired in an unlawful manner; or
  • take steps to correct any irregularity, where the title deed was otherwise obtained in a lawful manner.

All determinations made by the NLC are now required to be published in the Kenya Gazette and may be reviewed under the Fair Administrative Action Act.

Finally, the new law maintains the provision that no revocation of a title shall be effected against a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of a defect in the title. It will be interesting to see how this provision of the law will be applied, noting that the Supreme Court has held that a bona fide purchaser for value without notice does not have legitimate claims where the root of the title is tainted by illegality or irregularity – see of Dina Management Limited v County Government of Mombasa & 5 others (2023) eKLR, and Harcharan Singh Sehmi & Another v Tarabana Company Ltd & Others.

Historical land injustices – Re-opened for the next five years, an NLC decision can be registered as a court order with the NLC investigations to be completed within one year

The new law dealing with historical land injustices reinstates the ability of the NLC to receive claims for historical land injustices, which had been closed in September 2021. The NLC may now receive claims for a further five years from 4 November 2025.

The new law maintains a comprehensive framework for the investigation and redress of historical land grievances. Under this provision, the NLC is mandated to initiate, receive, admit, and investigate complaints relating to historical land injustices and to recommend appropriate remedies.

Further, the new law also maintains the list of permissible causes for historical land injustices, which include, but are not limited to colonial occupation, independence struggle, development-induced displacement without adequate compensation, inequitable adjudication or resettlement schemes, politically motivated evictions, corruption, natural disasters, or any other cause approved by the NLC.

A new requirement is that the NLC is required to complete investigations within one year, publish its decisions in the Kenya Gazette and any person aggrieved by the decision of the NLC may apply for review of the NLC’s determination under the Fair Administrative Action Act.

In terms of remedies, the new law maintains the same remedies such as restitution, compensation (if impossible to restore the land), resettlement, rehabilitation, affirmative action programmes, revocation and reallocation of land, sale and sharing the proceeds, refund to bona fide third-party purchasers, or other declaratory and preservation orders. In addition, the new law maintains that any authority tasked with implementing the NLC’s recommendations must do so within three years.

Notably, for historical land injustice claims, there is no express provision in the new law allowing for the NLC determination to be registered in the High Court, as is the case for NLC determinations made following a review of grants and dispositions of public land (discussed above).

Finally, the NLC is required to publish regulations within six months, to operationalise the provisions of the law on historical land injustice claims. There are existing regulations on historical injustice claims and we will monitor the proposed new regulations to see if these will have any impact on existing legislation, processes and procedures.

Conclusion

The most significant change is re-opening of the NLC’s ability to receive new applications for the review of grants and dispositions over public land and the claims for historical land injustice.

By and large, the substance of the law remains the same, other than:

  • Placing timelines within which the NLC must finalise its investigations;
  • The express ability to challenge determinations of the NLC in the High Court under the Fair Administrative Action Act; and
  • The ability to register the determination of the NLC as a court order in the High Court for the review of grants and dispositions of public land.