landowners in Kiambu County, are organizing protests against the county government’s proposal to impose land rates on them, citing opposition to the Kiambu County Valuation and Rating Act of 2016. This Act subjects all freehold land in Kiambu to taxation.
The Act’s Section 14 empowers the county government to evaluate private land, with interference punishable by a fine of KES 150,000 or a six-month prison term.
Additionally, Section 45 grants the finance executive authority to auction or sell land through private treaty if land rates remain unpaid.
However, certain exemptions are outlined in the Act, including public schools, toilets, markets, hospitals, and roads. Landowners are required to settle all land rates from 2016 to proceed with land-related transactions.
A resident of Miharati Villa in Kiambaa subcounty encountered obstacles when attempting to build on his less than a quarter-acre freehold land, as county officers demanded payment of land rates amounting to over KES 53,000, inclusive of penalties accrued since 2016.
The Act stipulates a three percent monthly penalty on unpaid land rates and allows the county to charge title deeds for outstanding rates through the registrar of lands.
Landowners, along with MPs, clergy, and other county leaders, are advocating for the repeal of the Act, drafting a petition through Bunge Mashinani, a non-governmental organization promoting democracy and human rights.
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba and Kiambaa MP John Wanjiku are calling for the complete removal of the law, emphasizing its lack of public participation during enactment. Governor Kimani Wamatangi acknowledges the absence of public engagement but has urged the county assembly members to review the law when they reconvene.
In response to public concerns, Wamatangi has announced a waiver on penalties accrued from land rates, as advertised in local newspapers and electronic media.
“This is to notify the general public and specifically land/plot owners in Kiambu county who have defaulted in timely payment of land rates, that the county government of Kiambu has waived 100% interest/penalties that had accrued on unpaid rates,” he stated.
