Factors contributing to illegal occupation and developments on alienated public land for road corridors in Kenya:

Abstract

Illegal land occupation and developments on road corridors in Kenya is quite common. The consequences include destruction of property and delays when the time comes to construct the roads. The fact that it is possible to occupy land, which had previously been acquired for road construction, could be caused by various factors ranging from a weak land administration system to poverty and corruption in the country. The study utilizes the Nairobi Northern bypass to examine the factors, which contribute to the illegal occupation and development on the road corridors. The objectives were to determine the nature and the extent of the illegal occupation and development on the bypass, to determine the process followed during the planning, design and acquisition of the road corridor, to examine the factors which led to the illegal occupations and development, and to find out the reaction of the Government and other stakeholders to the illegal occupations. The study aims to contribute towards policy guidelines to ensure that there is proper management of the road corridors in the future. The study was carried out by use of questionnaires and interview schedule with the relevant government officers in the various ministries involved with the land administration. A total of 113 household questionnaires were administered and these were selected using systematic sampling technique. The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative and hence various methods of analysis were adopted such as using frequency analysis and inferential statistics