Senator Mungatana Demands Clarity on Government Land Acquisition for NIS Campus
Mungatana’s intervention underscores growing scrutiny of land acquisition processes in Kenya, particularly in areas where communal land rights must be respected.
ana River Senator Danson Mungatana. Photo/Parliament of Kenya.
By Robert Assad
Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana has raised serious concerns over the Kenyan government’s recent acquisition of community land in Tana River and Garissa counties intended for a new National Intelligence Service (NIS) campus.
During the Senate plenary on Friday, May 23, 2025, Mungatana called for a formal inquiry by the Committee on National Security, Defence, and Foreign Relations regarding Gazette Notice No. 6256, published on May 16, which announced the government’s intent to acquire land for the Masalani NIS Campus.
The senator highlighted complaints from local residents who claim the government bypassed constitutional requirements by failing to conduct public consultations or offer compensation prior to land acquisition.
“The land was expropriated without the required public participation or compensation,” Mungatana told the Senate.
Further, he criticized the Gazette Notice for omitting specific geographical coordinates of the land in question. This lack of detail, he argued, compromises transparency and threatens the legal protections granted to community-owned land, which is managed in trust by county governments.
Mungatana urged the committee to investigate key issues, including why this particular land was chosen, why the official notice lacked precise location information, and whether local communities were consulted before the announcement.
He emphasized that transparency and accountability are crucial when government actions affect citizens’ rights, especially regarding land—a sensitive topic in Kenya due to communal ownership traditions and legal safeguards.
The senator also questioned why no compensation has been paid to affected residents, stressing the need for the national government to comply with the law and act justly.
Mungatana’s intervention underscores growing scrutiny of land acquisition processes in Kenya, particularly in areas where communal land rights must be respected.
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