In Kenya, land is the root of most problems
Kenya's land is owned mostly by politicians who grabbed millions of acres in questionable deals over the last 45 years. Now the new lands minister has an ambitious redistribution plan.
Reporting from Limuru, Kenya — Second of two parts: Africa's Colonial Legacy
From his tented refugee camp, James Karanga Ngugi seethed as he scanned a vast horizon of fallow, unoccupied land -- most of it owned by two of Kenya's most prominent political families.
"Why do they have so much and I have nothing?" he asked.
His grandfather once prospered here, before he was displaced by British colonialists. After independence, villagers regained control, but were soon forced out again, this time by a rich Kenyan businessman with ties to the president.
As compensation, Ngugi received 10 acres of land about 100 miles away, but residents there, from a different tribe, always resented his presence. During the election turmoil late last year and early this year that grabbed headlines worldwide, his house and business were burned down.
"Now I have to restart with nothing," he said.
As this East African nation struggles with food shortages, a sluggish economy and wounds from post-election violence, there's a growing consensus that one issue rests at the heart of Kenya's woes.
It's the land, stupid.
All across Africa, battles over land continue to simmer, largely a fallout of European colonialism. During most of Africa's history, sparse population and tribal traditions meant land was plentiful and disputes were rare. Colonialists introduced alien concepts such as borders and private ownership. Since independence began to sweep the continent 50 years ago, fledgling African governments have struggled to unwind injustices, sometimes with disastrous results. The Zimbabwean economy was devastated by President Robert Mugabe's campaign to seize and redistribute land owned by white farmers.
Kenya suffered a similar colonial legacy, but has taken a different route. As is the case in many African nations, more than half of Kenya's land is owned by a minority of its richest families, including some white foreigners. But unlike Zimbabwe and South Africa, where the struggle has pitted whites against blacks, the land here is owned mostly by Kenyan politicians who have grabbed millions of prime agricultural acres in questionable real estate deals over the last 45 years.
"This is really an issue between us as Kenyans," said Paul Ndungu, head of a landmark 2004 report that investigated more than 40 years of land fraud. "It's Kenyan versus Kenyan."
