The Ministry of Lands on Sunday blamed cartels for the theft of more than 300 title deeds at the Government Printer.
It added one officer working at the Government Printer had been arrested over the incident.
The Government Printer Abdi Hassan Ali had on Friday, September 26 issued a Gazette notice saying title deeds bearing serial numbers 5253001-5253367 had been lost.
This was made through the Executive Office of the President’s Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service.
“The Government will not take any liability arising from any unauthorized transactions) on the said Title Deeds and that by dint of this notice they are deemed cancelled and of no effect,” the notice said.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Lands said the documents stolen at the Government Printer are the papers that are used for printing Title Deeds.
A statement said the Ministry of Lands relies on the Government Printer for the provision of the security documents used for printing Title Deeds.
“We would like to reassure Kenyans that what was stolen at the Government Printer are not title deeds but the papers that are used for printing titles.”
“The papers can only become title deeds after they are handed over to the Ministry of Lands, filled with ownership details and sealed with the stamp and signature of the Registrar after all due processes are followed,” the statement said.
It added the most obvious motivation for the theft of the papers was an intention by corrupt cartels to produce fake titles.
The statement said the Ministry of Lands has enhanced its mechanisms for fighting land fraud and is working closely with security agencies to defeat the mechanisms that cartels and corrupt officials have traditionally used to commit land fraud.
“Those anti-corruption efforts will be applied to ensure that none of the documents that have been reported as stolen become a threat to land ownership.”
It added one officer working at the Government Printer had been arrested over the incident.
“The Government Printer has informed us that one officer working at the Printer has already been arrested by the security agencies in relation to the theft.”
“We, therefore, want to assure everyone that the integrity of our Titling process is intact and secure,” the statement said.
This came amid concerns over the theft of the title deeds at the Government Printer.
There are fears those behind the move want to grab the affected land.