Boundary Disputes Now The Cause Of Insecurity In North

By Benson Aswani,

The insecurity issue at the borders of West Pokot County and the neighboring Turkana County has taken a new twist as it is now said to be fueled by disputes over lands in some areas bordering the two counties.

Turkana leaders have blamed their Pokot counterparts for claiming the ownership of areas such as Ombolion, Kainuk, and Katilu among other border areas which they claim are part of West Pokot county and former East Pokot sub-county.

Led by Kapenguria Member of Parliament Samwel Moroto, West Pokot county leaders have expressed their displeasure on utterances made by some leaders from Turkana County over the ownership of lands in border areas.

Mr. Moroto called out Turkana County Governor Jeremiah Lomurkai and women representative Cecilia Ngitit for their utterances that he claimed to be inciteful.

“The Governor of Turkana County and the county’s women representative are the ones fueling land disputes among our people by claiming that we have grabbed land from Turkana County. These are sensitive utterances that should not come from anyone claiming to be a leader,” said Mr. Moroto.

He wants the two leaders to be ordered to record statements with DCI following their statements that claim to be inciteful, while at the same time calling on leaders from both sides to preach peace among the residents.

“We want these two leaders to be ordered to record statements with DCI for their careless utterances that may destabilize peace among our people,” he said.

On his part, the West Pokot County senator Julius Murgor indicated his plan to table a motion in the senate to demand the determination of the boundaries of the two counties as a move to put a stop to land related conflicts between these counties.

“I am planning to table a motion in the senate that will lead to the determination of boundaries of these two counties to stop these disputes,” said Mr. Murgor.