There was jubilation in Tana River county as women, People with Disabilities joined the list of more than 4500 residents who got tittle deeds for the first time since independence.

Traditionally women used to not have land ownership rights in the country but as President Wiliam Ruto wrapped up phase one of the major transformative initiative to end historical injustice in the Coast region it was all smiles for those who thought they would never get land ownership documents in their life.

Beneficiaries from all corners of the county were in Garsen Trading centre from as early as 4 am on Saturday to get their long-awaited land tittle deeds and could not hide their joy upon getting the documents.

Elizabeth Balo a retired teacher from Hola who is also living with disability said since she was born over 70 years ago, she has never seen tittle deed being issues in her area.

As a woman she said the hope of getting a tittle deed as a woman had also faded as in their culture women did not have rights to own land.

However, with President Ruto’s initiative she said she was now happy that as a woman, a person with disability and a resident of Tana River now had a tittle deed bearing her name.

She even jokingly said now her husband back home had to respect her now because she has her own land bearing her name and would use that to transform her life.

“With this tittle I am going to use it to secure a loan and do business to transform my life, life is not going to be the same again, I really thank President William Ruto for the initiative and we shall also pay back,” she said.

Juma Balesa a person living with disability from Tana River also hailed President William Ruto for remembering PWDS in the program of issuance of tittle deeds.

He said the document will largely help him be empowered economically and transform his life from poverty.

In Tana River County, President Ruto issued 4,500 titles for beneficiaries from Hola Town, Garsen Town, Bubesa, Galili, Kondertu, Wachakone, Chewani and Makamburini.

He said he will return to the county to issue more ownership documents in December.

“The titles we have issued since Monday will benefit 300,000 people in this region. I will come back in December to issue another 200,000,” said Ruto.

Lands CS Alice Wahome, while speaking at Mokowe, said, “Alongside the issuance of these title deeds, the Government is investing in transformative projects that will unlock the economic potential of this county, including major infrastructure, affordable housing and other strategic developments. We have committed KSh 6 billion to affordable housing in this county.”

Lands and Physical Planning PS Generali Nixon Korir said, “I thank the President for keeping his promise to the people of the Coast. We are happy to support him in solving the long-standing land ownership problem and restoring dignity to our people.”

While speaking at Garsen in the afternoon, PS Korir said, “We are committed to implement all the directives by the President on titling. We are ready to ensure to process another 200,000 titles by December so that we reach the target of 500,000 titles,”

During his extensive tour of the region, the President was accompanied by a high-ranking delegation including Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, Cabinet Secretaries Ali Hassan Joho, Salim Mvurya and Lands Cs Alice Wahome, Governors, Principal Secretaries, Members of Parliament and many other Government officials.

Earlier on Saturday while in Lamu, President Ruto issued 20,189 title deeds to beneficiaries from Vipingoni, Mtangawanda, Shanga Rubu and Shanga Shakani, Hidabo, Muhamarani, Bahari and Community Land Certificates to communities in Rubu, Mwambore, Simambae, Mvundeni and Ashwei.

“This land is yours. No Government will ever come to take it away from you. Today, we are issuing 20,189 title deeds as we correct historical injustices and restore dignity to our people. The Government has paid the full cost of surveying and processing these titles, and before December, I will return to Lamu to issue more titles and complete the work of resolving the squatter problem,” said Ruto.

Land ownership has been the most painful, unresolved promise of Kenya’s independence struggle.

While the primary objective of the fight for liberation was to regain ownership of ancestral lands, that dream turned into a historical injustice in regions across the country, most notably the Coast.

In 2022, President William Ruto made a specific pledge to provide a solution for the perennial squatter problem and related land tenure issues in the coastal counties of Kwale, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Mombasa, Lamu and Tana River.

In May this year, the Head of State directed the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning to embark on a Rapid Response Initiative aimed at transitioning hundreds of thousands of residents from squatters to legal landowners.

This initiative is underscored by concrete policy steps — compensating absentee landlords holding ownership documents for land already occupied by squatters and unlocking all bureaucratic bottlenecks that have historically contributed to the denial of land rights to citizens.

The President also directed that the absentee landlords should not use the initiative to gain unfair windfalls, a caution he reiterated on Friday when he spoke at the Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa.

The initiative was designed to be delivered in two streamlined phases — with a target of 300,000 title deeds in the first phase and 200,000 in the second phase, adding up to a total of 500,000 titles by the end of December.

This week, the President went on a whirlwind development tour of the region, during which he presided over the direct handover of hundreds of thousands of ownership documents to beneficiaries in the six counties.

The President issued titles in Kwale County on Monday; on Tuesday he issued titles in Kilifi County; on Thursday he did a similar exercise in Taita Taveta and on Friday he issued titles to beneficiaries in Mombasa.