Ruto promises 500, 000 Title Deeds at Coast by December to End Squatter Crisis
President William Ruto isssuing a title deed to residents in kwale county on september 28,2026. PHOTO/PCS
After decades of landlessness, conflict and evictions at the Coast, President William Ruto says the wait for ownership is finally over.
Speaking in Lungalunga, Kwale County on Monday, the President announced his government will issue 500,000 title deeds across the coastal region before December a bold push to settle one of Kenya’s most emotive land questions where 26,000 residents walked away with their long-awaited documents.
Ruto said this was just the start, with Kinango, Msambweni and other hotspots next in line.At the heart of the plan is a KSh10 billion kitty to buy out absentee landlords, survey contested parcels and process titles at no cost to residents.
For years, Ruto noted, the Coast’s land puzzle has been more than just paperwork. It has fueled poverty, displacement and even violence.
“It has brought the problem of squatters, it has brought the problem of poverty, it has brought the problem of disasters, it has brought the problem of conflicts and violence. It has brought the problem of citizens being chased from their homes,”.
He said ,his solution, is simple: those who live on the land should own it.
“And the answer is to ensure that every citizen, wherever they are settled, wherever they live, are given their land, and also a title deed,” Ruto told the crowd. He was firm that no one would be asked to pay “Not even one shilling” even those who missed the Lungalunga event. They can collect their deeds for free at government offices.
To speed up the work, more than 300 surveyors and land officers have been deployed to the Coast, working from Monday to Saturday across Kwale, Taita Taveta, Lamu, Tana River, Kilifi and Mombasa. Among the parcels already processed are Lunga Lunga Ranch, Werueni Ranch, Kanana, Gumbato, Mukono and Ramisi, plus title deeds for members of the Pemba community who recently gained Kenyan citizenship.
Ruto linked the titling drive to his broader Coast development agenda of expanding the Port of Mombasa, tarmacking roads, powering homes and growing the blue economy. He said KSh17 billion has been set aside for coastal roads, with eight projects ongoing and three new ones approved for Kwale. On the blue economy, he cited KSh2.7 billion is invested in the Shimoni fish port, set to be handed to an operator in November, with the Mwaepe fish landing site due before year-end.
