[kictanet] [Skunkworks] Preventing Land Ownership Fraud by "Crowd-Sourcing" information

Wed Dec 7 14:07:18 EAT 2011

This has been done before in similar settings.  Take a look at the Bhoomi
project [1] in India [2].  The basic premise is quite simple -- convert
paper land ownership records into digital format; provides proof of
ownership and allows easy searching of records.

[1] (http://bhoomi.karnataka.gov.in/)
[2] h
ttp://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/EXTEGOVERNMENT/0,,contentMDK:20484902~menuPK:1767268~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:702586,00.html<http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/EXTEGOVERNMENT/0,,contentMDK:20484902~menuPK:1767268~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:702586,00.html>

On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 9:27 AM, Thomas Kibui <thomas.kibui at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Listers,
>
> I am not sure if this has been discussed here or better still if it has
> been implemented somewhere but I will go ahead and talk abt it....
>
> We have a constitution and land laws that are being flouted by corrupt
> officials entrusted with enforcing them for material gain. For instance if
> you do a search for a piece of registered land, and you get a search
> results duly signed and stamped by the registrar of lands at that office
> then the information there is in binding and should also BIND the
> government who is the final authority in land governance because the buyer
> commits his/her funds to a purchase based on the information given at the
> registry.
>
> We have very MANUAL registries where documents are stored in files in a
> library like setup and  the core of those registries is a binder that holds
> the so called "green cards". One could liken the green card to the primary
> key in a DB. Due to the physical / manual methods used to change
> information on these paper documents and the fact that they have to be
> "physically" accessed, removed, edited and returned, they create a
> loop-hole for unscrupulous lands officials to change the content thus
> destroying the written history associated with a parcel of land and
> consequently depriving the real owners of their property / inheritance.
>
> A simple solution would be to digitize the registry .. but as you can
> imagine there would be a lot of resistance from the Lands officials because
> that completely takes away their source of corrupt funds. I know it will
> eventually be digitized BUT what can we do in the interim ... between now
> and the time that the registries will eventually be digitized ...   ?
>
> Land does not move... its is people who do the moving... One can never
> fail to get the history of a piece of land from the surrounding
> neighbourhood and this is one of the  "social" searches that one is advised
> to do when considering the purchase of a parcel somewhere. So why can't we
> tap into this free source of information as a way of counter checking  the
> already tampered information which exists in local land registries
>
> I was thinking that using the technology available today we could create a
> free online database or use one of the existing social media sites to
> create an online "Land Search"  resource where everyday ordinary Kenyans
> can check the "social" status and history of a parcel , correlate it with
> the information from the registry before making a decision to purchase..
> The information from this DB or Social Media site will not be "legally"
> binding  BUT it will raise red flags prevent the fraud considerably given
> that most land fraud cartels use deception and mis-information of
> "Government held information" to convince their victims.
>
> To populate it, I am thinking in the lines of "crowd-sourcing" this
> information and if possible tie it in on Google maps just like in
> www.ushahidi.com.  This way , the database can show a piece of land as
> Red, Amber or Green depending its social history eg,
>
>    - who initially owned it,
>    - was it inherited properly,
>    - was there a dispute,
>    - are there wives or children who were dis-inherited who might come
>    out of the wood-work after the purchase .
>
> Mapping it directly on google maps will alow the would be buyer to do a
> GPS search of sorts when he or she is "viewing" physically on the ground .
> This will also prevent the other form of fraud where the victim is shown a
> parcel which is not the one on the purported papers. There are other uses
> for such a database .. If YOU owns a piece of land somewhere, you can also
> flag it as RED to prevent fraudsters selling it with out your knowledge and
> fleecing an innocent victim out there. Look at it like putting a legal
> Caution of Caveat Emptor on a registered property   etc etc
>
> This idea  has its CONS .. Malicious relatives, mpango was kando
> husbands/wives,  neighbours etc can stop you from selling or getting a bank
> loan from your genuine land by flagging it red or mis-informing the public
> about it. etc
>
> Now I am basically a Network / Security guy and I have never written a
> line of code so I can't  tell you how this can be implemented "technically"
> otherwise it would be online as we speak ....  But having seen the
> destruction peoples dreams and  hard earned money  in the demolition of
> structures in Syokimau and Eastleigh .. I can't just sympathize with the
> victims and stop there ... They were conned yet some were holding "genuine"
> papers from the government they trusted as the most trusted land ownership
> authority.
>
> I believe that there is something that can be done to prevent it and I am
> throwing this to the listers to build on and if possible .. IMPLEMENT it..
> I am open to contribute wherever I can.
>
> PS: Since the framework for Ushahidi.com. already exists, maybe Ory and
> his team could assist ..
>
> karibu ...
>
>
>
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