The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has called for an investigation into allegations of torture committed by security forces deployed in the clash-torn Mt Elgon district in western Kenya.

The latest report alleging gross human rights abuses in Mt Elgon District has been met with the usual denials by officialdom.

Following the arrest and subsequent detention of 42 persons over a land dispute in Maryland County, 15 persons have been formally charged and are awaiting court trial while there is no information about the remaining 27 people who have not yet been charged.

The Mount Elgon military operation scored a major victory Friday when the top commander of the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) was gunned down.

The Rock Town Development Association (RDA) based in Monrovia has expressed concern over the eruption of violence between citizens of Klemonweh and Nyemonweh Chiefdoms in Maryland County as a result of a land dispute.

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Councillor for Housing and Land Eldridge Jerry says allegations contained in a recent media report around the awarding of certain contracts are false.

In a bid to properly structure the land allocation and management system, the Federal Government yesterday said it has set up a committee, to streamline and harmonise all land allocation matters, and ensure more accurate records of allocated lands in the country.

Those who peddle the lie that Zimbabwe's land reform programme has failed should visit Umguza and Bubi districts to see for themselves how ordinary Zimbabweans are reaping the dividends of the land revolution.

The violence in Mt Elgon started in 2006.

When the Government of Kenya began resettling more than 10,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) on Monday, thousands of them who have been camping at the Nakuru Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) show ground, some displaced persons said the Government should have reconciled them with the neighbouring communities first instead of rushing to resettle them.

PUBLIC land should be known, zoned and transparently competed for, regardless of which body oversees it, a procurement official has said.

THE proposed Land Bill does not protect tenants and landlords former East African Community secretary Amanya Mushega has said.

THE proposed Land Bill has caused lack of harmony between the Government and officials of the Buganda Kingdom. There are two categories of land in Uganda; the public and mailo land.

ACTING chief land claims commissioner Blessing Mphela has attacked researcher Ann Bernstein following a damning report on land reform produced by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE).

Since the outbreak of post-election violence in the Rift Valley, there have been numerous reports in the local dailies claiming that the root cause of this conflict is 'the land question'. Without exception, these reports fail to inform or educate us precisely because of their misrepresentation of history. Horace Njuguna Gisemba seeks to rectify this.

LAST week the Parliamentary Committee on the Land Amendment Bill 2007 consulted residents of Nakawa Division. Aidah Nanyonjo brings you the excerpts:

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission is yet to file its documents in court in respect of a suit involving public property.

The eviction of pastoralists in the mid western district of Buliisa has commenced, Daily Monitor has learnt. Buliisa RDC Ms Florence Beyunga said pastoralists occupying natural reserves have already been given marching orders.

Home to about 1.1 million people, Karamoja in northeastern Uganda is a harsh, semi-arid region largely inhabited by agro-pastoralists, with the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the country, and the lowest life expectancy.

The bickering between Lubaga Division RDC Zaina Muwonge and the division councillors has intensified with the latter accusing the RDC of fuelling land disputes in the division.

People who have lived on pieces of land for more than 18 years have been advised to seek the assistance of the courts to lay claim to the properties.

Residents of Kiganda Upper Local Council in Hoima are accusing the retired Bishop of Bunyoro-Kitara Diocese, the Rev Wilson Nkuuna Turumanya, of grabbing a piece of land, an allegation he vehemently denies.

Ugandans will soon get land titles for sh22,000 under a government strategy to improve land management. Under the systematic demarcation of land as the project in known, lawful and bonafide occupants in the pilot parishes will get the certificates.

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has no powers to distribute land, the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Sekandi, has clarified. Responding to questions raised by students of Makerere University during a meeting at Parliamentary Building yesterday, Sekandi said the distribution of land was a constitutional matter.

HUNGER and poverty are, in general, consequences of inadequate and restricted access to land and other resources.