Kenya’s Land Settlement Fund, tasked with addressing the country’s deep-rooted landlessness crisis, has spent over Sh1.6 billion without resettling a single Kenyan, according to a scathing audit by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.
The fund, established in 2012 to help internally displaced persons (IDPs), squatters, and landless families, now stands accused of mismanagement, wasteful spending, and failing to fulfill its core mandate more than a decade later.
Idle Land, Forgotten People
The Auditor General’s November 2024 audit found that multiple high-value land parcels, purchased specifically for resettlement, remain idle and undeveloped.
Among the properties is the Kisima Njoro land in Nakuru, bought in 2012 for Sh396.9 million to house victims of the 2007–08 post-election violence. Twelve years on, the land is neither surveyed nor subdivided, and no beneficiaries have been resettled.
“At the time of audit in November 2024, the land had not been surveyed or subdivided, and the beneficiaries had not been settled,” Gathungu noted.
Additional dormant parcels include:
- Mikanjuni Farm in Kilifi, purchased in 2020 for Sh377 million, with beneficiaries identified but not settled.
- Mazrui Farm, acquired in 2022 for Sh445.4 million, only partially distributed.
- Kadza Ndani plot in Mombasa, bought for Sh378 million in 2020, still awaiting settlement of informal occupants.
“In the circumstances, the objective for which the parcels were acquired and value for money had not been achieved,” the report emphasizes.
Chronic Mismanagement and Ignored Recommendations
The audit sharply criticizes the persistent governance failures within the fund. Despite multiple past recommendations from the Auditor General’s office, management failed to act, allowing longstanding issues to persist unchecked.
“The issues still remained unresolved and management did not provide explanation for the failure to implement recommendations,” the report states.
Critically, the fund operates without any approved framework to identify, assess, or mitigate legal, financial, or operational risks. This lack of internal controls leaves billions in taxpayer money at risk of further misuse.
Unrecovered Debt and Ballooning Interest
The audit also reveals a troubling financial burden: Sh6.6 billion in historical loans dating back to 1962 remain unrecovered. Even worse, accrued interest has added another Sh5 billion, yet no tracking or recovery system is in place.
“Management did not have a clear policy on evaluation and management of accounts receivable,” Gathungu said, adding that the fund has made no provision for bad debts, a major red flag in financial management.
A Mandate Unfulfilled
Overall, the audit paints a damning picture of an institution that has not only failed to resettle landless Kenyans but also squandered public resources in the process.
As thousands of IDPs and landless families continue to wait in limbo, the Land Settlement Fund’s credibility hangs in the balance, with renewed calls for accountability and reform.
