Towards a Cadastral Domain Model for Kenya’s Land Information Systems

Abstract

Kenya has pursued several initiatives to digitise land records, including ArdhiSasa, yet cadastral information remains fragmented across administrative and technical systems. Inconsistent data structures and the absence of a common conceptual model complicate the representation of parcels, rights, restrictions and related transactions. This study aimed to develop a Unified Modelling Language (UML) cadastral domain model appropriate to Kenya’s land administration context. A desk review of relevant research, government reports and statutory provisions was used to identify domain entities, attributes and relationships. A draft model was then examined and refined using questionnaire responses from land administration and geospatial practitioners reached through the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya. The proposed model represents actors, spatial units and legal interests through classes including Person, Property, Tenure and Interest. It also describes property conversion, spatial aggregation, adjacency, registration records, survey-related information and financial transactions associated with land administration. Inheritance, associations and associative classes are used to express the relationships between these entities without committing the conceptual structure to a particular software platform. The model provides an organised description of cadastral information that may inform the design of land information management systems and support future efforts towards data consistency and interoperability. As the study focuses on conceptual modelling and expert review, the operational suitability of the model requires further evaluation through system implementation and testing.