Organization files suit to compel implementation of Cabinet decision on land loans

The civil society organization Sheria Mtaani, has filed an urgent application before the Environment and Land Court in Nairobi seeking to compel the government to implement a Cabinet decision that waived interest and penalties on land loans for low-income settlers across the country.

The petition filed under certificate of urgency, has sued the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, and the Principal Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning.

The application follows the government’s announcement in November 2025 that it would waive accrued interest and penalties on settlement scheme loans held by thousands of low-income households in more than 520 settle schemes spread across 26 counties.

The move, intended to align with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, was projected to provide relief worth Sh12.3 billion.

However, nearly three months after the Cabinet resolution was issued, the petitioners through their lawyer Danstan Omari argue that no meaningful steps have been taken to enforce it.

As a result, settlers continue to face mounting debts, defeating the purpose of the relief measure.

In the court documents, the organization contends that the delay violates settlers’ constitutional rights and amounts to unfair administrative action.

The application seeks an order compelling the immediate implementation of the interest and penalty waiver, a declaration that the Cabinet resolution is legally binding and the decentralization of the National Lands Commission to improve service delivery in remote counties.

The NGO also wanted a refund of any interest or penalties paid by settlers after the resolution was passed.

“Every day of inaction pushes these vulnerable families deeper into financial hardship'” read the court documents

“The government made a promise to them, and it must now fulfill it.”