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Colonial land policies in Kenya.

Answer Text:
Colonial land policies in Kenya.
To empower the settlers to take up more arable land in Kenya, the Legislative council passed the following Land Acts or Ordinances;
1) The Indian Acquisition Act (1896). It empowered the authorities to take over land for the railway, government construction and public utilities.
2) The Land Regulations Act (1897). It allowed the government to offer a certificate of occupation and a lease of 99 years.
3) The East African Land Order in Council (1901). It defined crown land as all public land which was not private.
4) The Crown Land Ordinance (1902). It allowed the government to sell or lease crown land to
Europeans at 2 rupees per 100 acres or rent at 15 rupees per 100 acres annually.
5) The Maasai Agreement (1904). It led to creation of the Ngong and Laikipia reserves while the settlers took up Maasai land for livestock farming.
6) The Elgin Pledge of 1906. The government through the British Secretary of State, Lord Elgin confirmed that
the Highlands were reserved for settlers.
7) The second Maasai Agreement of 1911. The Maasai were pushed out of the fertile Laikipia reserve to pave way for more European settlement and large scale farming.
8) The Crown Land Ordinance (1915). This provided for land –registration scheme for
settlers. It defined crown land as land occupied by and reserved for Africans who could be evicted any time. Farm sizes wee increased from 5,000 to 7,500 acres.