Exploring Ethical Issues in Kenya's Land Management: A Systematic Review

Context and background Although previous studies acknowledge the existence of ethical issues in Kenya's land management, a knowledge gap remains regarding the impact of their co-occurrence. Since the colonial era, Kenya's institutional land management system has been characterised by injustices, corruption, and exclusion, yet little systematic analysis has been conducted on how these issues interact and reinforce each other to undermine governance. Goal and Objectives To address this limitation, the study systematically reviews ethical and integrity challenges in Kenya's institutional land management system from 1990 to 2025. Its objective is to identify, analyse, and synthesise how interrelated ethical issues co-occur, reinforce one another, and influence outcomes related to justice, transparency, and accountability. Methodology A systematic review of 37 scholarly and institutional sources was conducted using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework. Agency theory provided the conceptual basis for examining principal–agent conflicts in land governance. Data were synthesised thematically, and co-occurrence matrices were employed to visualise interactions among ethical challenges within land management. Results Five interrelated themes emerged: historical land injustices, corruption in land administration, institutional weaknesses, political interference, and legal and policy gaps. These challenges co-occur, creating administrative opacity, enabling elite capture, and sustaining unresolved injustices. Vulnerable groups such as women, pastoralists, and indigenous communities remain excluded from land rights protections. Political interference hinders impartial reforms, while digitisation and legal changes face overlapping mandates and weak political will. This study is the first to apply co-occurrence matrix analysis to Kenya's land sector, integrating ethics, law, and public administration. The findings offer critical insights for policymakers, scholars, and civil society actors seeking to strengthen ethical and accountable land governance in sub-Saharan Africa