By Murimi Mutiga

In the heart of Kirinyaga County, a quiet revolution is unfolding—one that addresses the lingering scars of colonialism through the simple yet profound act of granting land titles.

The County Government, in partnership with the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, through the Second Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP 2), recently initiated land tenure regularization for 11 colonial-era villages.

This effort, supported by the World Bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and a grant from the European Union, covers approximately 91.2 hectares and promises to issue title deeds to hundreds of residents who have long lived as squatters. While these 11 villages—Rwambiti, Kimunye, Ithareini, Mukinduri, Kibirigwi, Kiangoma, Thiguku, Kagumo, Kamuiru, Ndindiruku, and Githogondo—represent just a fraction of the county's 149 colonial villages in need, the program's impact is already rippling through communities, fostering economic empowerment, social stability, and a sense of true independence.

These villages originated during the colonial era when displaced Africans were pushed onto marginal land or settled as labour reserves near European farms. After independence in 1963, many residents were forgotten. Without legal titles, they could neither borrow against their land nor pass it securely to their children. Poverty became intergenerational, reinforced by the simple absence of a piece of paper.

The economic transformation is already palpable. Patrick Njenga, chairman of Ndindiruku village—resettled in 1974 but never titled—explains: “We have missed school-fees loans, business capital, everything. Now the bank will listen to us.”

With titles, farmers can access formal credit, crop insurance, fertiliser subsidies, and mechanisation programmes. In an agriculture-dependent region, this could dramatically raise household incomes and food security.

Socially, the impact is equally profound. David Muriuki of Rwambiti village describes how the lack of titles has paralysed inheritance.

“When a parent dies, the family is stuck. Children fight, outsiders grab land.”

Ruth Wanjiku from Thiguku village adds that mothers, often the most vulnerable, have lived in fear of dispossession. Legal ownership ends that fear.

Jacinta Wairimu, also from Rwambiti, sums it up simply: “For the first time, we feel secure.”

Community participation has been key to the programme’s success. Settlement Executive Committees and Grievance Redress Committees—comprising tenants, landowners, youth, women, persons with disabilities, and religious leaders have been elected in every village.

Residents speak with cautious joy. For example, an elderly woman in Kagumo clutches the survey map of her plot and whispers that she will finally build a permanent house for her grandchildren. A young farmer in Kibirigwi is already negotiating a bank loan to buy a dairy cow. Mothers talk of subdividing land among their children without the old terror of disputes.

Mr Murimi is the County Communications Focal Point Person for Kirinyaga County