A lobby group wants women included in title deeds of land owned by their husbands. Kenya Land Alliance (KLA), based in Kericho, also wants women to be allowed to inherit their father’s property.
Written by Nikko Tanui, The Standard
According to KLA’s Women Lands Rights Programme Officer Winnie Chepkemo, persistent discriminatory cultural norms and practices are among the strongest barriers to women and their right to property, including land.
“Weak implementation of policies, insufficient capacity to enforce laws, and a lack of societal will, compound the problem,” Ms Chepkemo told a meeting to educate members of the Kalenjin community on land matters. The meeting brought together Myoot Kipsigis Council of Elders, religious leaders and the Land Registrar in Kericho County.
She told The Standard the meeting was aimed at promoting cotenancy, co-ownership and joint titling to secure the rights of women in the Kipsigis community.
“The discussion is motivated by six sisters’ land inheritance case that witnessed the sidelining of the council of elders and religious leaders in solving succession disputes,” she said.