Article 65. Landholding by non-citizens
Official Constitutional Text
65. (1) A person who is not a citizen may hold land on the basis of leasehold tenure only, and any such lease, however granted, shall not exceed ninety-nine years.
(2) If a provision of any agreement, deed, conveyance or document of whatever nature purports to confer on a person who is not a citizen an interest in land greater than a ninety-nine year lease, the provision shall be regarded as conferring on the person a ninety-nine year leasehold interest, and no more.
(3) For purposes of this Article—
(a) a body corporate shall be regarded as a citizen only if the body corporate is wholly owned by one or more citizens; and
(b) property held in trust shall be regarded as being held by a citizen only if all of the beneficial interest of the trust is held by persons who are citizens.
(4) Parliament may enact legislation to make further provision for the operation of this Article.
Plain English Explanation
This is a simplified summary to explain this article in clear language. It is not the legal text of the Constitution.
Article 65 of the Kenyan Constitution restricts foreign land ownership by declaring that non-citizens can only hold land under a leasehold tenure for a maximum period of 99 years. Any legal document, agreement, or deed that attempts to grant a non-citizen an interest larger than this—such as absolute freehold ownership or a 999-year lease—is automatically reduced by law to a 99-year leasehold. Additionally, a corporation is only considered a Kenyan citizen if it is entirely owned by Kenyan citizens, and a trust is only treated as a citizen if all of its beneficiaries are Kenyan citizens.