Squatter Settlement in Kenya
UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Housing Policy Assignment NAME: KIMOSOP KEMBOI ANTHONY
EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS A. Squatter Settlement and Homelessness
The term squatter is defined is obtained from squat which means to live, build on, utilize, a property of a person without his concern and his approval or without any document of ownership like allotment letter, lease letter or the Title Deed. Dictionary.com defines a squatter as a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right or payment of rent. This means that where one has set a structure in land which is not approved for that purpose, without legal documents like the lease letter, allotment letter or certificate of registration of titles. It results from homelessness - lack of a place to call home, shelter over one’s head. In Kenya many cases of squatting result from the previous land not being put in place or developed. This is attributed to the existence of an opportunity in the on start of the construction and continuous absence of that person from the land for a long time.
In the Kenya’s History, there have been many cases of squatting in both the public and the private lands in which at the end they resist to move out of that land. For Example, in the water towers of Kenya which are the Cherangani Forests, Mount Kenya’s Forests, Mau Forests and Mount Elgon Forests, there have been a lot of intrusion into them leading the government to move them out by force. This was so evident in the 2011/2012 cases of Mau eviction which still leaves an issue of resettlement in the hands of the government. This led to the formation of a taskforce by the government to evict them and make their recommendation. This has been the same case experienced by the Okieks which are believed to be driving their livelihoods from the forests in Cherangani, Mau and parts of the Mount Elgon.
In the coastal region, the cases of squatter settlement are
Housing Policy Assignment NAME: KIMOSOP KEMBOI ANTHONY
EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS A. Squatter Settlement and Homelessness
The term squatter is defined is obtained from squat which means to live, build on, utilize, a property of a person without his concern and his approval or without any document of ownership like allotment letter, lease letter or the Title Deed. Dictionary.com defines a squatter as a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right or payment of rent. This means that where one has set a structure in land which is not approved for that purpose, without legal documents like the lease letter, allotment letter or certificate of registration of titles. It results from homelessness - lack of a place to call home, shelter over one’s head. In Kenya many cases of squatting result from the previous land not being put in place or developed. This is attributed to the existence of an opportunity in the on start of the construction and continuous absence of that person from the land for a long time.
In the Kenya’s History, there have been many cases of squatting in both the public and the private lands in which at the end they resist to move out of that land. For Example, in the water towers of Kenya which are the Cherangani Forests, Mount Kenya’s Forests, Mau Forests and Mount Elgon Forests, there have been a lot of intrusion into them leading the government to move them out by force. This was so evident in the 2011/2012 cases of Mau eviction which still leaves an issue of resettlement in the hands of the government. This led to the formation of a taskforce by the government to evict them and make their recommendation. This has been the same case experienced by the Okieks which are believed to be driving their livelihoods from the forests in Cherangani, Mau and parts of the Mount Elgon.
In the coastal region, the cases of squatter settlement are