The Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) has come out to condemn the invasion and destruction of private property recently witnessed in different parts of the country.

The institution raised concern that the said criminal activity seems to be on the rise and little or no action has been taken by relevant authorities to bring such incidents to a stop.

ISK thus called on all leaders and citizens to exercise utmost respect for private property.

According to the institution’s President Abraham Samoei, land forms a critical factor of production in many investment ventures such as Real Estate, Agriculture, Industry and Mining clearly indicated in Article 40 (1) of the Constitution.

“Every person has a right either individually or in association with someone else to acquire and own property (a) of any description and (b) in any part of Kenya,” Samoei stated.

“The State must ensure that the security of tenure of all property as guaranteed by the Constitution is upheld.”

He said that property that has been legally acquired must be protected from apparent anarchy.

ISK consequently identified land reforms as an essential component of the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) process from the foregoing institutions.

It also demanded that politicians stop using land and property as weapons to settle political scores and promote peaceful co-existence among all citizens.

ISK further called for the protection of all property as enshrined in the Constitution regardless of who owns the property, further urging relevant authorities to explore the TJRC report on land and end land injustices to realise co-existence among communities.

By Fredrick Azelwa.