Article 63(2) of the Constitution defines Community land as land that is lawfully registered in the name of group representatives under the provisions of any law; land lawfully transferred to a specific community by any process of law; any other land declared to be community land by an act of Parliament; and Land that is-:

1. lawfully held, managed or used by specific communities as community forests, grazing areas or shrines;
2. ancestral land and land traditionally occupied by hunter-gatherer communities; or
3. lawfully held as trust land by the County Governments, but not including any public land held in trust by the County Government.

Article 64 of the Constitution defines Private land as;

• registered land held by any person under any freehold tenure;
• land held by any person under leasehold tenure; and
• any other land declared private land under an Act of Parliament.

Article 62 (1) of the Constitution defines Public land to include but not limited to–

• land which at the effective date was unalienated government land as defined by an Act of Parliament in force at the effective date;
• land lawfully held, used or occupied by any State organ, except any such land that is occupied by the State organ as lessee under a private lease;
• land transferred to the State by way of sale, reversion or surrender;
• land in respect of which no individual or community ownership can be established by any legal process.

A community as defined by the Community Land Act having agreed on the need to register their

interest in land, will initiate the process of registration, which involves the following critical steps:

• Members of the Community notify the Community Land Registrar of the intention to register their interest in land;
• Members of the Community hold a public meeting;
• They elect members of the Community Land Management Committee (CLMC); and
• The Community Land Management Committee spearheads the process of registration of the community.

Upon the registration of the Community under the Community Land Act, 2016, the Cabinet Secretary shall, by a notice in the gazette, appoint an Adjudication Officer in respect of every community registration unit who shall facilitate, in consultation with the respective County Governments, the adjudication of the Community Land including the recording of Community Land claims, demarcation of Community Land and delineation of boundaries; and perform any other functions conferred by this Act.

Upon adjudication, the title relating to Community Land shall be issued by the Registrar in the prescribed Form. A community aggrieved by the decision of community land registrar may appeal to the chief land registrar

1. What documents should accompany an application for registration of community land?

As provided under Part II of the Community Land Act, 2016 the following documents shall accompany the application for registration of community land;

• Name of the Community
• Register of Members
• Certified copies of minutes of meeting resolving to seek application
• Rules and regulations of the community
• Description of Land being claimed including the sketch map

There are various legal and recognized ways of acquiring Land in Kenya. Some of the recognized ways of obtaining ownership of Land in Kenya include: nomination, purchase, transmission, adverse possession, surrender and compulsory acquisition- which can only be in favour of the government, land allocation, land allotment, and land adjudication.

• Communal Land: Any land which has been used communally, for public purpose, before the commencement of the Community Land Act, 2016 and shall upon commencement of the Community Land Act be deemed to be public land vested in the National or County Government, depending on the use to which it was put.
• Reserve Land: includes areas for farming; settlement; community conservation; cultural and heritage sites; urban development; or any other purposes as maybe determined by the community, respective County Government or National Government for the promotion or upgrading of public interest.

The rights of a registered community as proprietor, whether acquired on first registration or subsequently for valuable consideration, or by an order of Court, shall not be liable to be defeated except as provided under the Community Land Act or any other written law. It shall be subject to leases, charges and other encumbrances, and such overriding interests as may affect the land which include, but not limited to, trusts including customary trusts, compulsory acquisition and so forth.

• Evictions on community land shall be done in accordance with the Land Laws Amendment Act, 2016. Section 152D (1) of the Land Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016 provides that the County Executive Committee Member responsible for land matters shall cause a decision relating to an eviction from unregistered community land to be notified to all affected persons, in writing, by notice in the gazette and in one newspaper with nationwide circulation and by radio announcement, in a local language where appropriate, at least three months before eviction.
• In the case of registered Community Land, section 152D (2) provides that Section 152E of the Land Laws (Amendment) Act shall apply. The procedure prescribed shall be with respect to private land. Where a registered community is of the opinion that a person is in occupation of Community Land without consent, notice of not less than three months before the date of the intended eviction shall be served to the person to be evicted. The notice shall be in writing and published in a national and official language; in case of a large group of persons, be published in at least two daily newspapers of nationwide circulation and be displayed in not less than five strategic locations within the occupied land. It must also specify any terms and conditions as to the removal of buildings, the reaping of growing crops and any other matters as the case may require, and be served on the Deputy County Commissioner in charge of the area, as well as the officer commanding police division (OCPD) of the area. This provision is important to curtail arbitrary evictions on Community Land.
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• The Community Land Act highlights equality aspects and states that every member of the Community has the right to equal benefit from Community Land. Equality includes full and equal enjoyment of rights of use and access. Vulnerable and marginalised groups have the right to equal treatment in all dealings in Community Land.
• A registered community shall not, directly or indirectly, discriminate against any member of the community on any ground including race, gender, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion or culture.

This refers to accessible and habitable housing with reasonable standards of sanitation and basic services.

This refers to strategic litigation that employs the law as a tool of progressing human rights and equality or raising issues of public interest.