A fresh war of words has broken out over a long-simmering border dispute between Garissa and Tana River counties over the three-mile-long river stretch separating the two counties.
Tensions have risen after Tana River county started building ward administrator offices, ECD classrooms and health centres in Mansabubu and Nanighi in Fafi constituency and Abalatiro and Masalani in Ijara constituency.
Both Garissa and Tana River counties claim these areas. The boundary, along River Tana, pushes Garissa county about six kilometres miles away from the river. The river runs River 400km between the two counties.
Earlier this year Garissa Governor Ali Korane, while addressing the Building Bridges task force, called for the three-mile-long river strip to be scrapped.
Garissa deputy county secretary Abdirashid Mohamed expressed concern about the motives behind the new Tana River construction.
He said the developments were likely to disrupt the fragile peace between the Pokomo and Somali communities who lived side by side along the disputed boundary.
He called on Tana River to stop what he called "incursions" for the sake of peace.
Meanwhile, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i has been urged to take action against leaders from Isiolo county who are said to fuel periodic tensions along the Garissa-Isiolo border. Clashes have claimed 20 lives over two years.
Hassan Osman, secretary general of the Garissa Peace Committee, and Maryam Yahye of the Ijara subcounty peace committee said the Isiolo leaders were fuelling intercommunal conflict for political mileage.
“The situation has gone on for far too long. Surely in this day and age people cannot be dying every other day through border clashes as if we don’t have a government in place,” Osman said.
Hassan said the government was capable of ending the border dispute '"once and for all if it wants to". He blamed lack of seriousness by government officials for perennial conflicts.bring the border dispute ‘once and for all if it wants to’but said that lack of seriousness from the government officials was to blame for the perennial conflicts.
(Edited by V. Graham)
