Land Control Act

Section 1. Short title Section This Act may be cited as the Land Control Act.

Section 2. Interpretation Section a municipality or a township; or

Section 3. Application of control Section The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette , apply this Act to any area, if he considers it expedient to do so.

Section 4. Establishment of divisions Section The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette , divide a land control area into two or more divisions, if he considers it expedient to do so.

Section 5. Establishment of land control boards Section 5(1) The Cabinet Secretary shall, by notice in the Gazette , establish a land control board for every land control area or, where it is divided into divisions, for each division. Section 5(2) The membership of a land control board shall be as provided in in the First Schedule of this Act.

Section 6. Transactions affecting agricultural land Section 6(1)(a) the sale, transfer, lease, mortgage, exchange, partition or other disposal of or dealing with any agricultural land which is situated within a land control area; Section 6(1)(b) the division of any such agricultural land into two or more parcels to be held under separate titles, other than the division of an area of less than twenty acres into plots in an area to which the Development and Use of Land (Planning) Regulations, 1961 (L.N. 516/1961) for the time being apply; Section 6(1)(c) the issue, sale, transfer, mortgage or any other disposal of or dealing with any share in a private company or co-operative society which for the time being owns agricultural land situated within a land control area, Section 6(2) For the avoidance of doubt it is declared that the declaration of a trust of agricultural land situated within a land control area is a dealing in that land for the purposes of subsection (1). Section 6(3)(a) the transmission of land by virtue of the will or intestacy of a deceased person, unless that transmission would result in the division of the land into two or more parcels to be held under separate tit...

Section 7. Recovery of consideration Section If any money or other valuable consideration has been paid in the course of a controlled transaction that becomes void under this Act, that money or consideration shall be recoverable as a debt by the person who paid it from the person to whom it was paid, but without prejudice to section 22 . [Act No. 13 of 1980 , Sch.]

Section 19. Form of appeal Section An appeal under this Act shall be in writing and shall state separately each of the grounds of the appeal.

Section 20. Registration of documents Section 20(1) The registrar shall refuse to register an instrument effecting a controlled transaction unless he is satisfied that any consent required by this Act to be obtained in respect of the transaction has been given, or that no consent is required. Section 20(2) If the registrar contravenes subsection (1) of this section in relation to a share, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Section 21. False statements Section Any person who knowingly makes any false statement in an application or appeal under this Act, or who knowingly gives any false information to any person in connexion with the determination of an application or appeal under this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Section 22. Acts in furtherance of void transaction Section pays or receives any money; or

Section 23. Prohibition of land transactions Section The President may, by notice in the Gazette , prohibit any controlled transaction or any class of controlled transaction.

Section 24. Exemptions Section any land or share, or any class of land or share; or

Section 25. Regulations Section 25(1) The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations for prescribing anything which may be prescribed under this Act, and generally for carrying into effect the purposes and provisions of this Act. Section 25(2)(a) the forms to be used and the fees to be paid for things to be done under this Act; Section 25(2)(b) the procedure for the making of applications and appeals under this Act, and the particulars and material to be furnished; Section 25(2)(c) the convening of and procedure at meetings of boards; Section 25(2)(d) the allowances to be paid to members or representatives of boards (other than public officers).

Section 8. Application for consent Section 8(1) An application for consent in respect of a controlled transaction shall be made in the prescribed form to the appropriate land control board within six months of the making of the agreement for the controlled transaction by any party thereto: Provided that the High Court may, notwithstanding that the period of six months may have expired, extend that period where it considers that there is sufficient reason so to do, upon such conditions, if any, as it may think fit. Section 8(2) The land control board shall either give or refuse its consent to the controlled transaction and, subject to any right of appeal conferred by this Act, its decision shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any court. Section 8(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), an application shall be deemed to be made when it is delivered to the authority prescribed in the manner prescribed. Section 8(4) An application under subsection (1) shall be valid notwithstanding that the agreement for the controlled transaction is reduced to writing, or drawn up in the form of a legal document, only after the application has been made. [Act No. 13 of 1980 , Sc...

Section 9. Granting or refusal of consent Section 9(1)(a) have regard to the effect which the grant or refusal of consent is likely to have on the economic development of the land concerned or on the maintenance or improvement of standards of good husbandry within the land control area; Section 9(1)(b) is unlikely to farm the land well or to develop it adequately; or Section 9(1)(b)(i) is unlikely to farm the land well or to develop it adequately; or Section 9(1)(b)(ii) already has sufficient shares in a private company or co- operative society owning agricultural land; or Section 9(1)(b)(iii) the terms and conditions of the transaction (including the price to be paid) are markedly unfair or disadvantageous to one of the parties to the transaction; or Section 9(1)(b)(iv) in the case of the division of land into two or more parcels, the division would be likely to reduce the productivity of the land; Section 9(1)(c) a citizen of Kenya; or Section 9(1)(c)(i) a citizen of Kenya; or Section 9(1)(c)(ii) a private company or co-operative society all of whose members are citizens of Kenya; or Section 9(1)(c)(iii) group representatives incorporated under the Land (Group Representatives) Ac...

Section 10. Establishment of provincial land control appeals boards Section 10(1) The Cabinet Secretary shall establish for each province which contains a land control area, in consultation with the Provincial Commissioner of that province, a provincial land control appeals board. Section 10(2) The membership of a provincial land control appeals board shall be as provided in paragraph 2 of the First Schedule.

Section 11. Appeal to provincial land control appeals board Section 11(1) Where a land control board refuses to grant consent in respect of a controlled transaction, the applicant may, within thirty days of the copy of the board’s decision being delivered or posted under section 16 (2) of this Act, appeal to the provincial land control appeals board for the province in which the land in question is situated. Section 11(2) A provincial land control appeals board shall, in its absolute discretion, hear and determine all appeals made to it under subsection (1), and, subject to the right of appeal conferred by section 13 , the decision of a provincial land control appeals board shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any court.

Section 12. Establishment of central land control appeals board Section 12(1) There is hereby established a central land control appeals board. Section 12(2) The membership of the central land control appeals board shall be as provided in the First Schedule. Section 12(3) The Commissioner of Lands shall be the secretary of the Central land control appeals board, and shall attend and may speak at meetings, but may not vote.

Section 13. Appeal to central land control appeals board Section 13(1) Any person whose appeal has been dismissed by a provincial land control appeals board may, within thirty days of the copy of the board’s decision being delivered or posted under section 16 (2) of this Act, appeal to the central land control appeals board. Section 13(2) The central land control appeals board shall, in its absolute discretion, hear and determine all appeals made to it under subsection (1) of this section, and its decision of the central land control appeals board shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any court.

Section 14. Tenure of office of members of boards Section An appointed member of a board shall hold office for such period as may be prescribed or, where no period is prescribed, for such period as may be specified in his appointment: Provided that a member’s appointment may be terminated at any time by the Cabinet Secretary, and a member may resign at any time by notice in writing to the Cabinet Secretary.

Section 15. Procedure of boards Section 15(1) If the Chairperson of a board is absent from a meeting of the board, the members present at the meeting shall elect one of their number to preside at that meeting. Section 15(2) The quorum of a meeting of a land control board or a provincial land control appeals board, where the total number of members of the board is an even number, shall be one-half of that number, and where the total number is an uneven number it shall be one-half of the even number which is greater than the uneven number by one. Section 15(3) The quorum of a meeting of the central land control appeals board shall be three. Section 15(4) If there is an equality of votes on any matter before a board, the Chairperson of the board or other member presiding shall have a casting vote as well as an original vote.

Section 16. Decisions of boards Section 16(1) Every decision of a board shall be given in writing in the prescribed manner and shall be signed by or on behalf of the Chairperson or other person presiding, and where consent is refused or an appeal is dismissed the reasons for the refusal or dismissal shall be stated in the decision. Section 16(2) A copy of the decision shall in every case be delivered or sent by post to the applicant and, in the case of an appeal, to the board whose decision is appealed against.

Section 17. Power to order attendance Section 17(1)(a) require the applicant or appellant or any person interested in or affected by the application to attend before it; Section 17(1)(b) require the applicant or appellant to adduce evidence to its satisfaction as to the applicant’s identity and as to the ownership of the land to which the application relates; Section 17(1)(c) require any person to produce any document or other evidence relating to the land, Section 17(2) A board may depute one or more of its members or appoint a representative to visit and report on any land to which the application or appeal relates. Section 17(3) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or neglects to attend before a board or to produce, within the time allowed, any document or evidence, having been required to do so under subsection (1) of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred shillings.

Section 18. Power to inspect land Section Any member of a board and any person authorized in writing by a board may, at any reasonable time after giving at least forty-eight hours’ notice, and on production of his authority to any person reasonably requiring it, enter upon and inspect any land for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the board under this Act.

Section 26. Saving of Applications underLN 457 of 1963 Section Any application for consent duly made under regulation 10 or regulation 11 of the Kenya (Land Control) (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 1963 which immediately before the commencement of this Act has not been finally determined under those Regulations shall be deemed to be an application duly made under this Act, and it shall be forwarded by the person in whose possession it is to the land control board who would be responsible for determining a corresponding application under this Act, and thereafter it shall be determined in accordance with this Act.