Isiolo County Lawyer George Kithi leaving Milimani law courts after filing a petition seeking Interior CS Joseph Nkaiserry stopped from interfering with the Meru/Isiolo boundary dispute.
BY THOMAS KARIUKI
@thomaskariuki
Residents of Isiolo County want Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaiserry stopped from interfering with the Meru/Isiolo boundary dispute.
They say that the dispute is a creation of some leaders from Meru County with ill agenda of taking away the lucrative and ongoing upgrade of Isiolo airstrip.
The project is set for Sh900 million and has a passenger terminal building with an area of 4800 square meters and a capacity to handle estimated 125, 000 passengers a year.
Together with their Governor Hassan Guyo Shano, the residents hold that Meru leaders want to use government machinery as is manifest by the actions of CS Nkaiserry to also claim the 6200 acres of land mapped for the proposed Isiolo resort city.
Governor Guyo said that the land was valued at Sh6 billion in 2012 and that there is eminent threat that the land will be taken away out of the reach of Isiolo residents.
The residents also say that the sudden interest by CS Nkaiserry to settle the boundary dispute is suspect, reeks of ill motive and that the same is influenced by the impeding developments of Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport LAPSSET corridor project scheduled to pass through Isiolo County.
Through their Lawyer George Kithi, the residents say that the political environment among the communities in Isiolo is tense due to the alleged illegal decisions made by CS Nkaiserry on November 1 when he toured the region and that the resolutions can alleviate political or tribal clashes.
“The CS has no power whatsoever to appoint a team to adjudicate carry out survey and demarcate boundaries between two communities or any community at all,
“The acts need to be curtailed since the same are done without following the due process established in the constitution but purely unorthodox and unconventional means to influence the demarcation of the boundaries,” the residents say.
The people of Isiolo say that it is evident that out of the 14 members of the “impugned” joint team, 4 are purportedly representatives of Isiolo while 8 members are from Meru region. There is only one resident out of the alleged four representatives of Isiolo County.
“Constitution of the alleged committee is oriented at seeking an ethnic front-line that is imbalanced and oriented at dominating a thought process…it manifests skewed representation and a bid to sabotage, strife and or silence the voice of Isiolo residents,” they told a Nairobi court.
Governor Guyo asserted that the communities in Isiolo are many but the largest are Samburu, Turkana, Borana, Somali who ought to be considered in any team to adjudicate on land issues and boundary disputes in bid to obtain ethnic balancing, fairness and protection of the marginalized.
The committee comprises of Clare Omollo-Regional Coordinator Eastern, Chairperson Wilfred Nyangwanga-County Commissioner Meru, George Natembeya-County Commissioner Isiolo, Martin Bikuri-CEC Lands and Planning Meru, Daniel Kamanja- Lands Registrar Meru, Alexander Njagi- Land Surveyor Meru, John Wanyoike- Chief Valuer Meru, Harrison Musumuiah-Lands Registrar Meru, PatrarchMunyalo-District Lands and Settlement Officer Meru, Philip Mengi- Lands Registrar Isiolo, Stephen Njuguna- Surveyor Isiolo, KimathiKaberia- Land Surveyor Meru, Ahmed Shone-CEC Lands and Planning Isiolo and Beverly Opwora- Personal Assistant/RC, taking minutes.
They therefore asked the court to issue orders barring the committee from constituting, conversing, instructing or in any way conducting works, adjudicating, surveying the boundaries or subjecting the existing boundaries delineating Isiolo county and demarcation or making boundaries of Isiolo county or against other neighboring or bordering counties including Meru.
