The digitisation of all land titles in Kenya will begin in June this year.
This was announced by Lands Minister Zacharia Mwangi Njeru when he announced the progress of the implementation of the national land information system "Ardhisasa".
Mwangi Njeru said the process is at an advanced stage and will be completed within four months, stressing that his ministry has developed a programme focusing on four areas: digitisation of land records and processes, titling, legal framework and decentralisation of land services.
"What we are doing is putting the registers in order so that they can be uploaded into the system and made ready for transactions," said the minister, according to whom the digitisation of land registers will eradicate historical land problems such as loss of documents, multiplicity of titles, destruction of registers and lack of documents.
Once completed, Ardhisasa will provide a platform through which Kenyans will be able to conduct land transactions online, which were previously done manually.
In fact, an initial pilot phase in Nairobi has already taken place, and industry professionals have called for a review of the digital platform due to persistent complaints about transaction problems. Its effectiveness has been deemed slow and questionable, with transactions piling up and reports of the complexity of using the whole system. The Kenya Bar Association has also intervened to suggest changes and interventions before making them public.
According to some newspapers, there are also claims for damages, which the National Land Commission cannot pursue due to lack of funds.