Pairing technology and legal guidance to revolutionise land justice for women

Land is a vital resource to many, leading to numerous disputes in communities and among families. 

Some land disputes have turned ugly, even leading to death. 

Land could either be categorised as public land; held, used or occupied by any state organ or land transferred to the state by way of sale, or private land; registered and held by any person under any freehold- tenure.

Permanent and absolute tenure of land or property gives freedom to dispose it at will. It is also land held by any person under leasehold tenure-where one purchases a lease from the freeholder for the right to live in and use the property for a set number of years.

“For one to purchases Private Land, they need to do a search or green card searches which shows how the land has changed ownership since its registration. It enables one to authenticate the true ownership of the land, then due diligence is done,” says Richard Maina, an advocate of the High Court.

Women and land ownership

The female population in Kenya was reported at 50.44% in 2022 of the total population according to World Bank statistics. Yet this group faces challenges in accessing and controlling land resources.

A report from a survey by the University of Nairobi on the relationship between land reforms and gender-based violence in Kenya has grim and unfortunate features when it comes to women’s ownership, use, access and control of land and land-based resources.

Being the primary producers of food in communities, the UN asserts that securing-women’s land rights increases gender equality, food security and economic empowerment.

From Africa and Asia to Latin America, women suffer because they are excluded from land allocations. 

Today, less than one in five landholders worldwide are women, despite comprising nearly half of the world’s agricultural workforce and producing 80% of food in developing countries.

This is attributed to lack of awareness by women in communities and low literacy levels among women.

“Women suffer injustices due to land acquisition and ownership. Low of literacy is the major undoing to accessing their rights. Often, they engage translators; they are needed to be faithful but in most cases are not they are thrown under the bus, this leads to the loss in the land battle in court,” says Faith Alubbe, the CEO at the Kenya Land Alliance (KLA).

The KLA works in 25 counties in Kenya to ensure the effective implementation of land laws and policies. This is because most people do not know their rights. 

“They prefer peace instead of fighting for their rights due to cultural beliefs that hinder women from fighting for land,” Alubbe adds.

The KLA in collaboration with Shibuye Community Health Workers, a community Based Organization (CBO), is working to help women in Kakamega County access justice on land rights violations. 

Shibuye Community Health Workers is a member of Kenya Land Alliance and is Kakamega based.

“Using the Haki Ardhi App, women who are aggrieved can privately, and in a secure way, report the land rights violations that they face. The App has a toll-free text messaging service that works on all kinds of phones. The women simply have to text their case to 23583 and the KLA team will follow up and offer needed guidance on the way forward. Through the data we receive, we are able to know the kind of issues that hinder women from accessing their rights to land and through this we are able to forge the best way to help them,” says Janice Vusha who is the legal officer from the KLA.