They said some certificates require holders to pay additional fees before the titles become complete, despite assurances during the issuance exercise that all charges had been paid.
“The title deed reads that it will only be completed when the fee is paid, but when they were being issued, we were told that the amount had been paid. These are titles that to us appear invalid, and as such we are surrendering them back,” said John Kassim, a Lungalunga resident.
Other residents said commercial banks had rejected the documents when they tried to use them to secure loans, with the institutions reportedly questioning their validity and value.
“We have lost hope in them. We expected that we could even use the title deeds to access arrangements like loans, but we cannot,” said resident Moses Makelele.
The residents said they were returning the documents so the government could correct the alleged errors before issuing the titles again. They also questioned the size of the plots, saying some allocations fell short of the land they had previously occupied and expected to own.
The complaints follow similar concerns raised weeks ago by another group of Kwale residents, who rejected title deeds issued under the government’s settlement programme. They said some beneficiaries received plots measuring 50 by 100 despite having occupied and cultivated much larger ancestral parcels.
Residents also raised concerns about land subdivision. They alleged that authorities had allocated some properties to several households as the population grew, leaving some original landowners without title deeds.
The disputes come after President William Ruto issued more than 94,000 title deeds in Kwale County in October as part of efforts to address longstanding land ownership and squatter challenges at the Coast. The exercise included more than 26,000 documents for residents of Lunga Lunga Constituency.
During the event, Ruto said the government aimed to issue 500,000 title deeds to beneficiaries across the Coast by the end of 2026, describing the programme as part of his commitment to resolving the region’s longstanding land issues.
The residents are now calling on the President to cancel the disputed certificates and return to the area to oversee the issuance of corrected title deeds that reflect what they say are their rightful land allocations.
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