Governor Wavinya Ndeti Opposes Lands CS’ Directive to Transfer Konza Land 

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti on Saturday, December 28, opposed a directive from the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Lands Alice Wahome seeking to transfer land records of the Konza region from the Machakos land registry to Makueni County.

Through the Machakos Lands Executive Nathaniel Nganga and County Secretary Muya Ndambuki, the county revealed its intention to not honour an internal memo from Ardhi House that communicated the directive.

While expressing their resolve, the two county officials who report to Ndeti remained adamant they would not cede any part of their territory to another county. Significantly, the land makes up part of the Konza technopolis which has an estimated construction cost of Ksh1.2 trillion.

“There was an inter-ministerial report to the Senate on the demarcation of the Konza city boundary by the Standing Committee of Lands and Natural Resources clearly setting the boundary matter around Konza,” Nganga stated.

“Reference is hereby made to an internal memo referenced SLDP/1/1/4 within the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning dated November 19, 2024, by one M.A Maalim where the Ministry of Lands indicating that there was a discussion that approved the transfer of land records from Machakos land registry to Wote land registry,” he added.

“The memo sought to have the movement of the land records effective by December 30, 2024. The memo has elicited huge public attention since it sought to effectively alter the boundaries of Machakos county through the backdoor without following the requisite legal processes and procedures as outlined in the Constitution of Kenya,” Nganga posited.

The brewing dispute seemingly stems from the fact that the technopolis that is dubbed ‘Africa’s Silicon Savannah’, is projected to be a world-class smart city powered by Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) and infrastructure and robust business-friendly, policy and regulatory frameworks.

The Konza technopolis was a key flagship project under Kenya’s Vision 2030 economic development portfolio and has been picked up by President Ruto in his Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) model.   

The technopolis which serves as a Special Economic Zone containing four flagship projects gives both local and foreign investors a chance to latch onto the favourable tax policies and leverage on the tax incentives offered to boost development. 

Once fully completed, the technopolis will have the Kenya Institute of Science and Technology, Konza National Data and Smart City Facilities, and Konza Complex as well as an infrastructural center for housing and commercial purposes.     

These projects will ensure the provision of various amenities including roads, water, sustainable waste management, onsite transit, power, and communication through a state-of-the-art fibre optical infrastructure.

It remains unclear whether the government will take further action after the remarks of Wavinya’s county officials and whether the Makueni county government will reply to their counterparts.