@ all,
The problem of land here in Kenya has its root in the partition of Africa by European powers,which was fuelled by the need for raw materials in Europe. Three European countries met at Berlin in the 1884-5 Berlin conference and agreed to divide Africa amongst themselves. In Kenya,the British took control over the land and the natives were concentrated together in special areas called ''reserves''... Fast forward to post independence. There were two groups,one radical faction led by Oginga Odinga and Bildad Kaggia who believed in a radical seizure of the White Highlands ocupied by the white settlers and the liberal faction led by Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya who preferred a cautious approach to land transition.
During the Kenyatta regime,there was redistribution of land through the Million Acre Settlement Scheme which caused animosity and aroused ethnic tension,as the exercise was not fairly undertaken. In particular,tensions arose in regard to the amount of land apportioned in the eastern part of the Rift Valley. About 40% of the total land set aside for resettlement was allocated to Kikuyus because they had been identified by the administration as many of them had been displaced from their land. In tackling the arising tensions,Jomo opted for a political alliance between KANU/KAMATUSA divide. He appointed the alleged rapists of forests as Kenya's 3rd VP,an action that lulled the prevailing ethnic conflicts. This political solution,however had the effect of consigning under the carpet substantive issues about land in the R.V (Thus the PEV and consequently the infamous Waki envelope with enough Mpigs from RV). Jomo's other approach was to contain potential conflicts in the other areas by addressing individual leaders rather than the communities. Some were rewarded with positions in the cabinet and in the parastatals thereby lulling the articulation of ethnic grievances on land.
Kenyatta's approach to dealing with land isues paved the way to a regime of irregular allocation of land. The politicians around Jomo were awarded large tracks of land in RV and Central Province. On the other hand those who fought for independence in the Mau Mau insurrection were not allocated land at all. It can therefore be argued that land grabbing,irregular allocations and other corrupt dealings involving land transactions started during this period.
Upon taking power,Moi had to fuata Nyayo and he did not hesitate to use land as a tool for political patronage. Under pressure from the KAMATUSA group,he rewarded his supporters with land to consolidate his patronage network. (Thus,the list by wa Kanesa full of Kales). During the 1960's Moi belonged to KADU,which opposed KANU over the question of land. They had agitated for Majimbo system of government to safeguard their interest. In the wake of agitations for multi-partism in the early 1990s,the majimbo card was used to intimidate and fight those agitating for Majimbo (Similar to 2007). The politically instigated ''tribal/land clashes'' were a direct consequence of this strategy and manipulation fo ethnic fears of the hitherto peacefully existing communities. As a result of the clashes,many legitimate owners of land in RV wer evicted from their lands.
Both Jomos and Mois regimes regarded land as a tool for political manipulation and patronage. They did not have the moral conviction to deal rationally with the time bomb that the land question continues to be. Things apparently became worse during Mooi's regime. Moi came to power with a thin political support base compared to Jomo who came to power at a time when the nationalistic euphoria still engulfed the nation. The need to extract resources for patronage was therefore of greater urgency for Moi than it was for Kenyatta. As,a result,Moi's tenure saw the exploitation of lands belonging to agricultural institutions,research institutions,the military and forestlands among others,for personal gain. Indeed,the culture of land grabbing became an institutionalised public indertaking.
** I have intentionally avoided Gen. Kiguoya regime in this,since as the name suggests things are still thick.