The Land Transfer Programs in Kenya After Independence

 The Million Acre Scheme

One of the steps that the colonial government took before Kenya gained independence was a land transfer program to Africans. The most popular program was called The Million Acre Scheme. It was designed to transfer ownership of European-owned farms to individuals who wanted to leave or couldn't stay after independence. The scheme included small- to medium-size holdings covering a total of 1.15 million acres. The British government provided loans to help these individuals buy out the departing settlers. The transfers were based on a willing-seller/willing-buyer principle, and the loans were given to those who could repay or had the financial means to pay in cash.
Special Plot
In early 1964, President Kenyatta ordered that colonial farmhouse and 100 acres of land surrounding them be reserved for "prominent people" in the settlement schemes. This was called the "Z plots" or “Kapchumba” in Kalenjin. The British government was not aware of this idea, as they had given loans for the purchase of farms to be allocated to the landless. The Z plots were allocated to applicants who could meet the loaning conditions. The aim of these plots was to use the farms as demonstration centers. Z plots were found within other settlement schemes because most European farms had houses on them. There are many of these plots in Uasin Gishu but are occupied by prominent people and some were converted to schools.
Haraka Settlement Schemes
The Haraka settlement schemes were initiated in the late 1960s to settle landless squatters. A land board was established to manage the land previously owned by white settlers. Mismanaged farms were handed over to the Settlement Fund Trustees (SFT) and then given to squatters. An example of this scheme is Kondoo in Uasin Gishu.
Shirika Settlement Schemes
In the Shirika program, the government decided to settle people on a group or cooperative basis instead of individually. This program started in June 1971. Farms acquired by the government were converted into large farm management programs, known as Settlement Fund Trustee (S.F.T) farms or complexes. Farm workers were taken over by the government and given 2.5 acres of land within the complexes for subsistence farming. A capable farm manager operated the main farm along commercial lines. An example is Shirika farm in Kiplombe near the University of Eldoret.
Squatter Settlement Schemes
Squatters are people who occupy land that they don't legally own, and this was a problem in Kenya before independence. In the 1960s, the government established the Special Commissioner of Squatters to address this issue. In 1971, the role of the Special Commissioner of Squatters was taken over by the Department of Settlement. In 1986, the government initiated another settlement program to identify and regularize squatters on government land, particularly in the Coast province. This program is still ongoing today, and squatters are being regularized on land reserved for this purpose by the Commissioner of Lands.

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