President William Ruto’s Kwale Title Deeds Rejected Over Validity and Size Errors

President William Ruto’s distribution of 94,175 title deeds to residents of Kwale County has been met with rejection from a section of beneficiaries who describe the documents as fake, incomplete and of no financial value.

The deeds were issued on September 28, 2026, with more than 26,000 handed out at a ceremony in Kibaoni, Lunga Lunga, as part of a government programme that aims to allocate 500,000 title deeds across the Coastal Zone by the end of 2026.

Residents said banks turned away the deeds, telling them the documents could not be used as collateral, and complained that the titles indicated completion only after payment of a fee despite being told the fee had already been settled. “This title here has been written to be completed only when the fee is paid. There is an amount indicated here and we are told it has been paid. These are titles we don’t understand, and we are taking them back,” said John Kasim, a Lunga Lunga resident.

Others highlighted discrepancies in land measurements, claiming the parcels recorded on the deeds were smaller than the land they have occupied for years. “We do not understand these title deeds. They are not acceptable to us because the title itself says it will be completed only when the fee is paid, yet we were told that it had already been paid,” said John Kassim, also of Lunga Lunga.

Moses Makelele reported that attempts to secure loans using the deeds were rejected by commercial banks, leaving residents “disappointed” and without the hoped-for credit. Julius Kaema said the community had returned the deeds through area chief Mwenyasi to the Deputy County Commissioner in Lunga Lunga, urging the government to correct the documents. “We are returning these title deeds to where they came from so that they can be corrected and we can get our rights,” he said.

The government’s broader land settlement effort, announced by President Ruto, targets the issuance of half a million title deeds to coastal beneficiaries by the close of 2026, aiming to resolve long-standing land conflicts and provide formal ownership.

Earlier complaints in the county noted that some beneficiaries received plots measuring 50 by 100 metres despite having cultivated larger ancestral parcels, and that subdivision of land had left original owners without titles.