1. Transparency International Kenya
SECURING LAND INHERITANCE AND LAND RIGHTS FOR WOMEN IN KENYA A case study of Kakamega County
Samuel Kimeu
(Executive Director)
Mary Maneno
(Deputy Programmes Officer)
Transparency International Kenya

2. “The cry of ‘land and freedom’ of colonial times continues to be the demand of many women and orphans who are left at the mercy of the greedy and insensitive relatives, friends and communities.”
(GROOTS Kenya, 2012)

3. Presentation Outline Historical background on women’s access to land
Corruption risk mapping tool: Findings of the Kakamega Study on inheritance rights of women
Significance of promoting women's access to land
How has culture been reframed in the current legislative framework on land?
Recommendations to safeguard women land rights
Going forward: What next with the corruption risk mapping tool? 3

4. Historical Background on Women’s Access to Land Rights
Nearly 80% of Kenya’s approximate area of 582,646 sq. is arid or semi-arid.
Majority of Kenyans are wholly dependent on land for sustenance and livelihoods.
Concept of individual ownership of land was introduced during the British colonialization.
Women’s rights over land were limited to fending and food production for the family.
After independence, land owned by the colonialists was reverted to the state for distribution among communities whose land was alienated.

5. Development of the corruption risk mapping tool
Objectives of the tool
Stakeholders involved in the study: Transparency International Kenya and Centre For Rural Development (SLE)
Participants: Grassroots women groups from GROOTS, government officials and other affected community members.
Data collection : Analysis of existing literature such as legal documents and collation of empirical data; focused group discussions and field visits
Main users of the results: TI-Kenya, the National Land Commission, the Ministry of Lands, civil society and academia in Kenya, and the public.
The map will be an advocacy tool that will assist in filling the existing gaps in land and corruption. 5

6. Findings of the study: Factors negatively affecting the inheritance of women
Social cultural factors such as discriminative customary laws
Lack of awareness/ understanding of rights and responsibilities
Poor implementation of land laws (lack of political will)
Limited women participation/ representation in decision making bodies
Technicalities of the legal system
Fear of being stigmatised by society
Weak institutional structures especially in enforcing provisions in law that are pro-women
Financial constraints - Difficulty in accessing alternative forms of collateral especially on land 6

7. How has culture been reframed in the current legislative framework on land?
The Constitution
Land Laws
The Land Act
The Land Registration Act
The Community Land Act
The Marriage Laws
Matrimonial property Act 2013
Marriage Act 2014. 7

8. Recommendations
Raising public awareness to ensure land tenure rights are respected.
Engage with affected communities in monitoring and reporting corruption risks
Increasing and improving policy and academic research on land corruption and its gendered impact
Gender training for traditional leaders in land governance
Harmonising customary law and statutory law
Inclusion of women in land governance institutions and building their awareness on fighting and reporting corruption
Encourage joint titling of private property and registration of user rights
Promote goodwill in safeguarding women rights to land
Application of the land corruption risk mapping tool in addressing corruption risks in land governance 8

9. Website: http://www.tikenya.org
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