Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said the government will keep issuing title deeds at the Coast until residents' land problems end. He spoke on Wednesday in Kalalani, Kinango Constituency, Kwale County. There he handed title deeds to 20,000 residents, KBC reported.
Kindiki said the thousands of titles being issued across the coastal counties are a key step to restoring dignity to millions of people. He said they had gone without land ownership for decades. According to KBC, he blamed the land problems on years of neglect that left the region underdeveloped. "For a long time, the coastal people suffered because of neglect," he said.
KBC reported that the Kalalani group joins hundreds of thousands of residents who have received titles since President William Ruto took office in 2022. Ruto recently presented more than 300,000 titles during a development tour of the region, the broadcaster said.
The deputy president called the titles the fulfilment of a campaign promise to coastal residents. He said they had lived with failed promises in the 63 years since independence. He then asked the crowd to back Ruto's re-election. "I am not ashamed today to say we have fulfilled this promise," he said, according to KBC.
Kindiki also pointed to other projects in Kwale. According to KBC, the government is building 294 km of roads at a cost of KSh 17.2 billion. The county has received KSh 1.8 billion to connect 15,300 homes to electricity. Modern markets, affordable houses and student hostels are also under construction. The Mwache dam, which will serve Kwale and Mombasa, is nearing completion.
Kindiki asked residents to raise any unresolved land issues and promised quick action. He said the era of neglect and discrimination was over. He urged residents not to be misled by those he called proponents of division. He said the President's opponents are fighting him because he insists on developing every part of Kenya, KBC reported.