Nairobi — Shareholders of the troubled Embakasi Ranching Company have a reason to smile after the government announced the second phase of title deeds issuance today.

Embakasi Ranching Company Chair Lucy Muthoni said President William Ruto will lead an exercise that will see close to 30,000 people acquire title deeds.

"We are grateful that after a long wait, the current administration has decided to listen to us. Our President will lead this exercise. Embakasi ranching will be as peaceful as ever," said Muthoni.

Individuals are expected to carry 3-coloured passports, an original and a copy of their National Identification Card, a copy of the share certificates as well as a copy of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) PIN certificate.

Companies must present a copy of the certificate of registration, a copy of KRA PIN certificate and a certified copy of CR12.

Other requirements expected of companies include copies of the KRA PIN as well as the National IDs of the directors and three coloured passports of each director.

For self-help groups, partners must present the certificate of registration, copies of the KRA PIN as well as the National IDs of the trustees and three coloured passports of each trustee.

At the same time, Muthoni also warned that any plot with dispute will not be titled until the matter has been resolved.

"It is a criminal offence to present fake or forged documents and doing so will lead to arrest and prosecution", she said.

Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the programme in August 2020 after the company, Embakasi Ranching Company, ran into financial headwinds.

At the time, there were 35,000 shareholders of the firm and a few got their title deeds in the initial exercise overseen by the Head of State.

Kenyatta also waived the Ksh1 billion processing fee. Individual applicants had been expected to pay as high as Ksh30,000 for the process to be completed.

The exercise was halted in May 2021 with some 8,000 beneficiaries expected to get the new title deeds.