LSK raises alarm over ArdhiSasa downtime, demands urgent restoration and official communication

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has expressed alarm over the ongoing outage of the ArdhiSasa platform, highlighting that the disruption has halted crucial land and conveyancing transactions nationwide. In a statement released on September 2, 2026, LSK President Charles Kanjama pointed out that the platform had been inaccessible since September 1, 2026, without sufficient official communication detailing the cause of the issue or a projected timeline for its restoration.

The Society reported receiving numerous complaints from advocates whose conveyancing and land-related transactions were impeded by the technological failure. "Searches, transfers, registrations, valuations, and other critical processes have been brought to a standstill," LSK emphasized, warning that the disruption was impacting advocates, their clients, financial institutions, and other stakeholders involved in land transactions.

As a cornerstone of land administration services in Kenya, the halt of ArdhiSasa could lead to substantial legal and commercial repercussions. The Society noted that conveyancing proceedings adhere to contractual, statutory, and commercial schedules; thus, the delays induced by the system failure could subject parties to penalties, extra costs, financing issues, and possible disputes.

LSK stressed that advocates should not bear the burden of delays stemming from a government-run digital platform's failure, especially when authorities fail to furnish timely updates on the disruption. "Digitization must enhance accountability, not diminish it," LSK asserted. The lawyers' body also argued that authorities bear the responsibility of ensuring the dependability, consistency of service, and transparency when vital public services are transitioned to digital platforms.

LSK urged the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning and ArdhiSasa administrators to promptly elucidate the nature and scope of the disruption and offer a clear schedule for restoration. The Society also requested authorities to provide regular public updates until the platform is fully functional and to establish fallback measures to support urgent and time-sensitive transactions.

LSK further demanded assurances that users would not face penalties, loss of priority, additional fees, or any other forms of disadvantage solely due to the system downtime. The Society also advocated for the creation of a transparent incident-notification protocol for future scheduled maintenance or unexpected outages affecting ArdhiSasa.

While backing the digitization of land administration, LSK cautioned against a scenario where users are left uninformed when the system fails. The Society contended that digital platforms should boost efficiency, transparency, and service delivery rather than instill uncertainty among citizens and professionals who rely on them.

"A mandatory digital platform cannot operate as a black box in which services vanish without notice and users are left to speculate," LSK stated. Consequently, the Law Society of Kenya has demanded immediate official communication from the relevant authorities and an urgent restoration of the ArdhiSasa platform.