At least 50 specially trained security officers will be deployed to police the volatile border between Kitui and Tana River counties.
Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu called on Interior CS Fred Matiang'i on Wednesday to complain about aggression by people from Tana River.
She said the outlanders not only graze their livestock in Kitui but have undertaken development projects in the county.
Ngilu said government funds from Tana River have been used to sink boreholes in Kitui. The governor said the county considers this an act of aggression.
She said the outsiders appear to be on an expansionist mission and seem intent on annexing Kitui land.
Ngilu told Matiang'i that Kitui residents have in the past been attacked by herders from Tana River and Northeastern.
Matiang'i said the well-equipped special force will patrol the full length of the Kitui-Tana River common border to stop intrusion from either side.
Three elders from Ngomeni in Mwingi North subcounty visited the governor a day before and told her about the boreholes being sunk in Kasiluni by authorities from Tana River.
Ngomeni MCA Muteti Nding’uri, who accompanied the elders, said residents are concerned that the availability of water would lead to an invasion of people from Tana River.
This could lead to conflict with locals, he said. The elders were chairman Stephen Kimanzi, secretary John Musyoka and treasurer Mary Mwendwa.
Matiang'i said the government does not condone the occupation of Kitui land by people from Tana River. He said the special police unit will ensure each community lives within its borders.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya
