A strategic milestone for land rights in Kenya
On the heels of a pivotal moment in Kenya’s land governance landscape, the National Land Commission (NLC), International Land Coalition Africa (ILC Africa), and Kenya national land coalition through the host organization Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI) on behalf of the Kenya National Land Coalition, officially signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the 16th of June 2025. This strategic collaboration marks a turning point towards strengthening government-CSO partnership for people-centered land governance, data-driven, and community-led solutions for secure land rights.
Through this partnership, multistakeholder platforms such as the Kenya National Land Coalition (KNLC) are further empowered to bridge policy and practice by anchoring community voices in national land discourse.
Why this partnership matters
At the heart of this collaboration lies a shared vision: transforming land governance through collective action. With structures already in place, as NLC CEO Kabale Tache noted,
There is now a greater opportunity to ensure that land allocation processes are responsive, coordinated, and equitable. Noteworthy in this regard are the persistent challenges, including fragmented data, a lack of a national land bank, and increasing land fragmentation, which demand joint responses.
The MoU provides the blueprint to do just that, links policy influence with grassroots mobilization.
What the MoU enables
The MoU outlines key areas of collaboration:
- Strengthening policies, practices and agenda on land governance, including bridging the policy implementation gap on the ground
- Development of a national land data and monitoring framework
- Joint research and evidence-based advocacy
- Capacity strengthening of actors at all levels
- Resource mobilization for land governance priorities
- County-level engagement through established NLC structures
Highlighting how the agreement brings together state and non-state actors in unprecedented ways.
Moving forward
The MoU will be operationalized through annual joint workplans, periodic reviews, and coordinated actions aligned with national priorities and community realities. It is a step toward a more harmonized land governance ecosystem; one where collaboration, trust, and inclusion form the bedrock of change.
