Two legislators from Turkana County on Tuesday spent the better part of the day at the Rift Valley Directorate of Criminal Investigations Regional Headquarters where they were questioned on the insecurity in the North Rift.
Turkana County Woman Representative, Cecilia Ngitit and Turkana East MP, Nicholas Ngikor who were accompanied by their lawyers had been summoned to give information about the inter-ethnic fighting among three communities in the area.
Addressing the media outside the regional DCI offices, the politicians blamed a section of leaders for inciting their communities to fight and displace their neighbours to expand their territories.
Ngitit blamed pressure for new constituencies and counties for the perennial insecurity in the North Rift.
“Some leaders with expansionist ideas have pressure to harness land for more counties or constituencies and they are inciting their communities to displace neighbouring ethnic groups,” she said.
Ngitit wondered why certain communities wanted to change the boundaries which have been there since the colonial days when the country was demarcated.
The two politicians defended their community saying they were a peace living people who lived peacefully with their international neighbours from Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
“We live peacefully with our neighbours from the three countries and the Samburu community on the other side, why is it that there is fighting with people from Baringo and Pokot over the Kapedo area,” she wondered.
Ngitit said Turkana was also home to the largest refugee camp yet the residents have been accommodative to the visitors for decades.
"What they are looking for is displacements so that they can harness land for extra Constituencies," she said
Ngikor dismissed Tiaty MP William Kamket's claims that Kapedo was in Baringo Country.
He claimed that Kamket seemed to know something more, especially because his wife was working with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commissions which deals with boundaries review.
“Kamket’s wife should also be summoned to tell the DCI what she knows about the boundary issues and the insecurity in the North Rift,” he said.
Last week, Kamket, Sigor MP, Peter Lochakapong and West Pokot Senator, Julius Murgor were also summoned for grilling on the insecurity issue.
This was one of the many times that Kamket has either been summoned to the DCI or arrested due to insecurity.
Ngikor urged the government and Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kithure Kindiki to stop the duplication of sub-counties in Turkana.
