It is a historical injustice for the Kenyatta family to own (it is said) half a million acres of land, all over this country (including thousands of acres in Coast Province). The defence that this land was bought is no defence at all, because this land could not have been otherwise obtained if Jomo Kenyatta had not been the President (i.e. the Kenyattas would not have this land if Jomo Kenyatta had not been the nation's first President). Now that's the truth, and I don't know why we're afraid of saying it. And I hope those who read it are willing to at least admit that these issues are a problem for our nation.
(Parenthetically, the same family, in league with others of ill-repute, and with their own land cases in court as we speak, is in the middle of visiting yet another injustice upon Kenyans, by standing for election while standing accused at the ICC of crimes against humanity.)
How can we solve this problem? The Government should charge an annual tax of KES 1,000 per year per acre on all land, freehold or leasehold. This is manageable if you hold 1 acre of maize in Western or a ka-quarter in Kitengela (KES 250 per year). But if you have 100,000 acres, that's KES 100 million annually. Such landowners would have to either
(1) Sell that land, or
(2) Lease it, or
(3) Somehow make it produce that Ksh 1,000 per year, thereby creating employment.
All of these outcomes are helpful, are they not?
I would add that the Government should have the first right-of-purchase on the sale of such land, at close to purchase prices as well. Thereafter the National Land Commission can issue policy on how this land should be used, because land fragmentation is another issue that pulls in the opposite direction of what the KES 1,000 tax would achieve. Via wanjikurevolution Kenya
