The National Land Commission is struggling to deliver on its mandate amid growing political pressure, a mounting pile of legal disputes and a lack of powers to force government institutions to act on its recommendations, exposing deep-rooted challenges in the country's land management system.
The commission says its efforts to address historical land injustices, safeguard public property and improve land administration have been frustrated by political interests, weak cooperation between state agencies and inadequate financial and human resources.
In its annual report for the 2025-26 financial year, tabled in Parliament, NLC warns that political influence has increasingly interfered with decisions on land allocation and the implementation of major projects.
The report, signed by chairman Dr Abdillahi Saggaf Alawy, links the disruption to political pressure, frequent policy changes and election cycles, which it says have affected administrative processes and interrupted programmes that require sustained implementation.
“They lead to delayed decision-making in major projects. Additionally, election cycles and policy shifts affect administrative processes and consequently disrupt project continuity,” the report states.
To prevent political changes from derailing ongoing programmes, the commission wants continuity measures put in place to protect projects from disruptions whenever the country goes through an election or a change in policy direction.
It has also proposed involving political leaders in non-partisan discussions on land reforms, arguing that their participation could help secure goodwill and support for programmes that require long-term commitment.
However, political interference is not the only challenge confronting the commission. NLC says its ability to oversee land administration has been weakened by the failure of public institutions to act on its recommendations.
The commission has asked Parliament to review its enforcement powers, saying it currently lacks the authority to compel national and county governments, as well as other public bodies, to implement its decisions or explain why they have failed to do so.
This limitation has affected its oversight responsibilities, particularly in land-use planning and efforts to protect public land from unlawful allocation and disposal.
“Once the commission submits the recommendations, implementation depends on the receiving body,” the report states.
The agency is also battling a heavy caseload that threatens to slow the resolution of disputes involving public land and historical injustices.
By the end of the 2025-26 financial year, it had more than 4,000 active cases before the courts, placing additional pressure on its ability to resolve land-related complaints.
More than 2,000 of the cases concerned the review of grants and disposition of public land, while thousands of historical land injustice claims were still awaiting resolution.
To clear the backlog, NLC plans to engage the Judiciary on a system of jurisdictional filtering that would screen cases against set requirements before allowing them to proceed to full hearings.
It also intends to expand the use of alternative dispute resolution to encourage parties to settle disagreements without lengthy court battles, reducing litigation costs and speeding up the determination of disputes.
The commission's ability to perform its functions was further affected by a leadership crisis that left it without the required decision-making quorum for four months.
The situation followed the expiry of the terms of the former chairperson and six commissioners, leaving the institution partially constituted and unable to approve binding policies or issue official directives.
During this period, the secretariat could not take over the responsibilities of the commissioners because the law restricts it from performing the commission's policy-making functions.
NLC says the arrangement exposed a weakness in its governing legal framework, which made it difficult to maintain normal operations during the leadership transition.
“This paralysis and governance bottleneck were a direct consequence of the quorum rule set by the commission’s governing statute, the NLC Act 2012,” the report states.
It has called on stakeholders involved in the appointment of commissioners to address legal, political and administrative obstacles that could cause similar disruptions in future leadership changes.
The leadership gap ended on March 23, when the Third Commission, headed by Dr Abdillahi Saggaf Alawy, took office.
Financial and operational limitations have also emerged as major impediments to the commission's work. NLC cites unreliable funding, inadequate technical personnel, shortages of equipment, transport difficulties and limited office space among the problems affecting service delivery.
The report notes that the resources allocated to the commission have consistently fallen short of what it requires to carry out its responsibilities, leaving it unable to execute some of its core functions effectively.
Meanwhile, disputes over boundaries between counties and communities have added another layer of difficulty, particularly during the registration of community land.
The commission says the exercise has become increasingly sensitive, with disagreements over territorial boundaries creating tension and threatening to complicate the registration process.
It has urged the national government to undertake the demarcation of county boundaries to minimise disputes and prevent conflicts from escalating as community land registration progresses.
The commission is constitutionally mandated to oversee public land management, address historical land injustices and guide land-use planning, but its latest report highlights how political, legal and institutional weaknesses continue to stand in the way of these responsibilities.