The Kenyan government is facing a fresh legal headache after a human rights lobby moved to the High Court to compel the state to honor its KES 12.3 billion promise to the country’s poorest land settlers.

The lawsuit, filed by Sheria Mtaani and led by the combative lawyer Danstan Omari, accuses the Ministry of Lands of sabotaging a Cabinet resolution that was supposed to be a flagship achievement of the "Bottom-Up" agenda. In November 2025, the Cabinet approved a blanket waiver of interest and penalties on settlement scheme loans, a move intended to benefit over 500,000 families across 26 counties.

The Bureaucratic Blockade

Despite the executive order, not a single cent has been waived. The petitioners argue that Principal Secretary Nixon Korir and the State Department for Lands have "willfully and maliciously" refused to operationalize the waiver, leaving thousands of settlers in limbo. Without the waiver, these families cannot get title deeds, meaning they cannot develop their land or use it as collateral.

• The Human Cost: "These are people who were resettled in the 1960s and 70s," Omari argued in court papers. "They have paid the principal amount two or three times over, but the interest keeps growing. The President said waive it, but the bureaucracy is saying pay us. Who is running this government?"
• Strategic Sabotage? The lobby group claims the delay undermines the President’s agenda. "You cannot talk of economic transformation when you are holding half a million families hostage over colonial-era debts," said Shadrack Wambui, a co-petitioner.

A Ticking Time Bomb

The case touches on the sensitive nerve of land ownership in Kenya. The 520 settlement schemes involve some of the most politically volatile regions, including the Rift Valley and the Coast. By delaying the waiver, the state risks reigniting historical grievances.

Sheria Mtaani is seeking orders to compel the immediate issuance of title deeds to all beneficiaries who have cleared their principal sums. As the court certifies the matter as urgent, the Ministry of Lands finds itself in the dock, accused of turning a presidential directive into a bureaucratic paper tiger.