Even with the Constitution adopted in 2010 and new land laws to safeguard the interests of citizens in land ownership, fraudulent acquisition of land in Kenya is still prevalent.
Transparency International Kenya through the Advocacy and Legal Advisory Centre (ALAC) Western has continued to empower citizens on corruption and anti-corruption strategies particularly emphasizing the role of the citizen in the fight against corruption through civilian oversight. It is through such capacity building by ALAC that the Coalition of Good Governance in Bungoma managed to prevent corruption which could have cost the public money intended to purchase land to set up a police post.
It all began when the Constituency Development Fund Office issued a cheque of Ksh 500,000 to purchase land to set up an Administration Police Camp within Kibabii Location, Bungoma County. A high ranking county administration official and a chief took it upon themselves to look for the land. However members of the community felt that they were doing so in order to enrich themselves by cutting deals.
The community members having amassed knowledge through the ALAC forums on the importance of being involved directly in projects, raised questions about the funds and the procedure that was being adopted to acquire the land. The two officials got information that residents were probing the deal and abandoned the plans to acquire the land themselves. Members of the community, led by the coalition members, constituted a committee that collected views on the project from other members and were directly involved in the acquisition of the land that was eventually purchased for the construction of the Administration Police Camp.
Members of the community expressed gratitude to ALAC Western for knowledge and support on corruption and anti-corruption strategies as through that, they were able to avert a corrupt deal.
