For more than six decades, land has been the most powerful political issue at Kenya's Coast.
Every election cycle has been dominated by promises to resolve historical land injustices, settle squatters, address absentee landlord ownership and issue title deeds to thousands of families living in uncertainty.
The issue has shaped voting patterns, influenced political alliances and often determined the fortunes of candidates seeking elective office in the region.
Yet as Kenya moves closer to the 2027 general election, there are growing signs that the Coast land question may no longer hold the same political influence it once did.
The reason lies in the approach adopted by President William Ruto's administration.
Unlike many governments before it, the current administration has sought to move beyond promises and place land reform at the centre of its development agenda for the Coast region.
When the President presided over the issuance of more than 33,000 title deeds at Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa recently, the significance of the event extended far beyond the documents being handed over
It represented a broader strategy aimed at addressing the structural causes of one of the region's oldest and most persistent challenges.
During the 2022 election campaign, Ruto repeatedly promised that a Kenya Kwanza administration would actively purchase land from absentee landlords and settle landless families across the Coast.
The pledge was ambitious because the issue has remained unresolved through successive governments despite decades of political attention.
What makes the current effort noteworthy is that the commitment did not end after the election.
The government allocated resources through the Settlement Fund Trustees (SFT) to facilitate the acquisition of land from absentee landlords for the settlement of squatters.
At the same time, it initiated negotiations with landowners and began identifying strategic parcels suitable for settlement programmes.The results are now becoming visible.
According to the President, the government has already acquired or secured land in several parts of Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu and other Coast counties, benefiting tens of thousands of families.
Areas such as Kwa Punda in Changamwe, Junda in Kisauni, Gazi and Gombato in Kwale, Shambani in Msabaha, Ganda and Takaungu in Kilifi, have already been included in settlement programmes.
Additional acquisitions and negotiations are ongoing in locations including Mashamasha (Lamu), Migingo (Malindi), Kagaa and Kiwandani (Kilifi), Machungwani (Taita Taveta), Parbat and Waa (Kwale), Kitangale and Kibusu in Tana River.
He also said the government has finalised negotiations to acquire additional land in Mashamasha (Lamu), benefiting 2,000 families; Migingo in Malindi (4,000); and three separate locations in Likoni (Mombasa) benefiting 356 families.
Closer home in Mombasa, Likoni, Utange, Bombo, Zumzum, Thathini, Allidina and Kwa Bulo (Mombasa), among others.
Collectively, these interventions represent one of the most comprehensive attempts in decades to address the Coast's land challenge through direct government action.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the strategy is the shift from prolonged legal battles to negotiated settlements.
For years, land disputes involving absentee landlords have dragged through courts, often taking decades without producing meaningful solutions for affected communities.
The current Kenya Kwanza administration has instead chosen dialogue, negotiation and compensation as the preferred route to resolving these disputes.
This approach reflects a practical understanding of the complexity of the Coast land question.
While litigation may establish legal rights, it rarely delivers timely solutions to families that have occupied land for generations without ownership documents.
Equally significant is the revival of the SFT model.It was originally established to purchase land, subdivide it and settle landless Kenyans.
Although it played an important role in post-independence settlement programmes, its influence gradually diminished over the years.
For a long time, Coast leaders argued that revitalising the fund offered one of the most practical solutions to absentee landlord disputes.
President Ruto's administration appears to have embraced that thinking by directing resources towards land acquisition and settlement schemes.
The second pillar of the strategy is large-scale title deed issuance.
Historically, the absence of title deeds has been at the heart of political grievances at the Coast.
Families without ownership documents have struggled to access credit, secure investments, transfer property or protect themselves from eviction.
Successive politicians built campaigns around promises to address this problem because it touched the daily lives of ordinary residents.
The government says it has issued about 381,000 title deeds at the Coast over the past three years as part of a national programme that has delivered more than 1.5 million title deeds countrywide.
More importantly, another 200,000 title deeds are reportedly being processed and could be issued in the coming months.
If achieved, this would significantly reduce the number of residents living without formal proof of ownership.
For many families, receiving a title deed carries greater political significance than listening to another campaign speech.
It provides security, dignity and an opportunity to build wealth through legally recognised ownership.
The political implications are substantial.
For decades, opposition politicians and local leaders successfully mobilised voters around the argument that governments had failed to address historical land injustices.
The message resonated because many communities remained trapped in the same challenges year after year.
However, if title deed issuance continues, absentee landlord disputes are reduced and settlement programmes expand, the effectiveness of land as a political mobilisation tool may decline.
Voters who secure ownership documents are likely to shift their focus to a different set of questions.
They may begin asking which leaders can create jobs, attract investment, support agriculture, grow tourism and improve economic opportunities.
In other words, the political conversation could gradually move from ownership to productivity.
That does not mean the Coast land problem has been completely resolved.
Many disputes remain complex and involve overlapping claims, inheritance conflicts and unresolved historical grievances.
Thousands of families are still awaiting titles, while several negotiations remain incomplete.
Ultimately, the success of the government's strategy will depend on implementation rather than announcements.
If land acquisition slows, settlement schemes stall or promised title deeds fail to reach beneficiaries, the issue could quickly regain its traditional political significance.
The writer is a Mombasa businessman and politician
