Land Reforms in Kenya: an Analysis of the Socio-economic Impact of Land Reforms in Kenya: the Case of Kiambu District, 1946-1978

This work analyses the socio-economic dynamics that are associated with land reform in the country but through a case study. Specifically, it notes that, land reform as process has been carried out by virtually every country. The Kenya land reform is not only different but inimitable. The reforms were designed and implemented by the colonial authorities with the sole intention of calming the political turmoil created by the Mau Mau underground movement. Desperate to avert the Africans challenge to their authority, the colonialist used land as a punitive exercise to those challenging their dominance and as a reward to the loyalist. The reform introduced stratification never experienced before, it deliberately brought a landless class and a landed gentry separated by a ?near landed' class. These classes were pushed to adopt new social links and relations and engage in diverse economic experiences which have continued to shape the people's relations to date. Indeed, land reform has continued shape the political direction in the country. This work has presented the factors that shaped the reforms. addressing the so called historical injustices cannot ignore the land reform issues.