By Milliam Murigi
In 2019, Jane Wambui, a retired teacher from Nairobi’s Donholm estate, discovered a “For Sale” sign planted on her land. Someone had forged her title deed and listed her property without her knowledge.
“I got a call from a friend who had seen an advert for a plot with my parcel number,” she recalls. “When I went to Ardhi House, the officers couldn’t even find my file. It was terrifying.”
What followed were months of anxiety and back-and-forth between government offices, lawyers, and police investigators before she finally managed to reclaim her land. That experience, she says, taught her how vulnerable landowners were under the old manual registry system, where files often went missing and fraudsters thrived.
“If ArdhiSasa had existed then, it wouldn’t have happened,” she says. “Now I can log in and see my land details any time. No one can touch my property without me knowing.”
ArdhiSasa is Kenya’s online land management platform, enabling citizens to conduct digital land transactions, including land searches, title transfers, and lease renewals, without the need to visit land offices physically. It is a flagship government platform developed under the National Land Information Management System (NLIMS) to digitise land records and streamline service delivery.
The initiative is part of Kenya’s broader Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) agenda, which aims to digitise key public services and make them accessible, secure, and transparent. It specifically aims to eliminate corruption, fraud, and inefficiencies in Kenya’s land administration system.
“Because of digitisation, we’ve significantly reduced the number of fraud cases and fake title deeds,” says Hon. Alice Wahome, Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development.
“Our goal is to ensure that every piece of land in Kenya is mapped, registered, and available on a secure digital platform.”
For Mary Njoki, a Nairobi resident, this digitisation has made all the difference. When she decided to buy a plot in Kasarani last year, her lawyer advised her to verify the title on ArdhiSasa before making payment.
“Within minutes, I confirmed the land truly belonged to the seller,” she says. “I didn’t have to visit any office or deal with brokers. Everything was clear and traceable.”
With this assurance, Mary went ahead with the transaction and completed the ownership transfer online. For the first time, she felt confident buying land in Kenya. The system gave her peace of mind.
Real estate developers are also applauding the digitisation of the land registry. Moses Muriithi, CEO of Fanaka Real Estate, says that ArdhiSasa has significantly improved transparency and reduced cases of fake title deeds. Besides, the integration of digital payments through M-Pesa and eCitizen has simplified the process for both developers and buyers.
“The system has streamlined the process. A land search that took three days can now be completed within hours,” says Muriithi. “You can track your application and see exactly where your documents are in real time. You can also pay stamp duty directly online and get a receipt instantly. Before, this took weeks. Transfers that once dragged on for months now take about 30 days.”
However, he notes that not every process is digital yet. Valuation and subdivision still require physical inspections by officers, which can delay transactions. The next step should be full digitisation and better coordination between the national and county governments. Despite these gaps, Muriithi believes the system is rebuilding public trust.
“At least now, you can log in and track your file instead of worrying whether someone at Ardhi House misplaced it,” Muriithi says.
The transition to a digital land registry has also changed how legal professionals handle property transactions. Lawrence Gachanja, an advocate at Gachanja Mwangi & Co. Advocates, says the system has not only enhanced efficiency but also raised the bar for compliance.
“Digitisation is not bad—it has made processes more efficient,” he says. “Land searches are now immediate, provided the title has been verified, and paperwork has reduced drastically.”
However, Gachanja notes that if a mistake occurs during data entry or documentation, the transfer can take longer. That’s why platform users need professionals like lawyers and surveyors who understand the process better.
According to him, ArdhiSasa has brought greater structure and accountability to land transactions by mandating the involvement of professionals. Unlike before, every transaction now requires a lawyer’s participation. The platform seamlessly connects landowners, buyers, lawyers, and surveyors, ensuring that every step of the process is transparent and properly documented.
Gachanja adds that for users familiar with technology, the platform is easy to use and process seamless. One needs to just follow the prompts. However, digital literacy remains a challenge for some people.
“While the benefits are clear, challenges still exist. Many Kenyans have not yet uploaded their land records for verification, and awareness about the platform remains low. Some processes such as approvals at the county level, are still manual, slowing down digitisation,” Muriithi says.
Cybersecurity is another major concern. According to him, some citizens are hesitant to upload their land documents online due to fears about data security and privacy. According to him, for digitisation to gain full public trust, the government must assure citizens that their data is safe. Strong encryption, reliable backups, and strict access control measures are essential to prevent manipulation or cyberattacks.
“People are afraid that their documents could end up in the wrong hands if the system is breached. We must treat land information as national security data. Any breach could have serious consequences,” Muriithi says.
He also suggests expanding access to those without smartphones or internet connectivity. A USSD version of ArdhiSasa could help reach rural landowners who are digitally excluded.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, the Ministry of Lands plans to roll out ArdhiSasa across all 47 counties by 2026. For now, the services are available only in Nairobi County, which remains the pilot region.
Despite all these benefits, experts caution that the system is not foolproof. Busalile Jack Mwimali, a law lecturer and advocate of the High Court of Kenya, says that one significant challenge is the potential risk of data loss and compromised database integrity due to a single database.
Storing all information on a single platform increases the vulnerability to hacking, leading to data deletion, alteration, or modification. To mitigate these risks, the government will have to invest in enterprise relational database management systems to enhance the security features of the online system, which is quite expensive.
“For Ardhisasa to be effective and secure, Kenya must invest in strong, resilient database infrastructure and maintain robust backups to safeguard land records against system failures and cyber threats,” says Mwimali.
The other challenge is creating a robust data model to manage and adapt to changing survey plans and data. This requires a significant financial investment to ensure optimal performance. An ideal data model requires acquiring expensive software and implementing rigorous security measures to establish a reliable and long-lasting system, which presents various cost-related challenges.
“To maintain trust, the system should undergo regular cyber‑security audits, including frequent penetration testing. At the same time, land registries should continue to be treated as critical infrastructure, ensuring that both physical and cyber security are prioritized,” Mwimali adds.
Additionally, without a fully organized online system, people using property transfer services, especially those who aren’t familiar with digital tools, could be tricked or taken advantage of by dishonest, tech-savvy individuals. These individuals could even exploit their lack of knowledge to fraudulently take or transfer their land to others.
Relying solely on online transactions could also lead to informal land dealings among those who cannot access the digital system, particularly in remote areas with low internet access or among the illiterate population, resulting in unregistered and unenforceable land transactions.
