NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 28 — The High Court has declared that Parliament cannot impose timelines on the National Land Commission (NLC) in executing its constitutional mandate to investigate and recommend redress for historical land injustices.
The ruling follows a petition filed by activist Okiya Omtatah, who challenged the National Land Commission (Amendment) Act, which sought to restrict the Commission’s determinations to one year and implementation of remedies to three years.
While delivering the judgement, Justice Chacha Mwita found these provisions unconstitutional.
“It was not for Parliament to limit the period. This is to undermine the mandate of a constitutional body when the Constitution itself does not set timelines,” he ruled.
Omtatah argued that the proposed timelines were intended to shut out victims of historical land injustices from seeking compensation, especially given the Commission’s chronic underfunding and the large backlog of unresolved claims. He also challenged earlier restrictive measures, including a 10-year limit on claims.
Justice Mwita emphasised that the Constitution is a living document, whose provisions must be interpreted harmoniously. “The Constitution must be interpreted to harmonise its provisions, not to destroy each other.”
He noted that section 14(9) of the Amendment Act is unconstitutional because the NLC’s review and redress functions are not tied to any timeframe under the Constitution.
He stated that Section 15, addressing historical land injustices from 1895 to August 2010, does not impose deadlines for processing claims.
He pointed out that under Article 67(e), Parliament does not have powers to enact legislation that restricts or curtails the constitutional mandates of the NLC.
The ruling concluded that any attempt by Parliament to limit the admission and processing of historical land injustice claims to five years—or any fixed period—is inconsistent with the Constitution.
Consequently, the Amendment Act was declared unconstitutional to the extent that it sought to curtail the NLC’s mandate.
The decision is hailed as a major victory for victims of historical land injustices, ensuring that the NLC can continue its work without arbitrary legislative restrictions, even amid resource constraints and longstanding backlogs.
