Turkana Leaders have sharply differed over the location of Aroo Sub County headquarters ahead of its commissioning.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki last month announced he will within two weeks operationalize the three remaining sub-counties; Aroo, Lokriama and Suguta.
Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai and his faction advocate for Kainuk as the prime location, emphasizing its strategic position.
However, Turkana South MP John Ariko Namoit and his supporters champion Kapelbok in Kaptuir Ward, citing reasons of security and community accessibility.
Lomorukai said;
“We are not supposed to negotiate with anyone where Aroo Sub County Headquarters will be located. All people of Turkana South who have a vision for the challenges are suggesting the government put the headquarters in Kainuk,” he said.
“I’m saying without fear of losing votes. We asked for the Aroo Sub-county and we had suggested where it should be located.”
The Governor spoke during the launching of the upgrade of 3km of roads to bitumen standards within Lodwar municipality.
Turkana County Assembly Speaker Christopher Nakuleu echoed Lomorukai's stance, issuing a stern ultimatum to MP Ariko to make a decision promptly or face intervention from leaders.
In contrast, MP Ariko contends that Kapelbok is better suited due to its larger population and potential to mitigate security concerns, especially in border areas with neighbouring counties.
“Kapelbok has a larger population than any other town thus it qualifies to bring services closer to the people. Most of the developments have always been on the Eastern side of the river and therefore this is an opportunity for development to take place across the river,” Ariko said
Ariko emphasized the importance of distributing development evenly, particularly highlighting Kapelbok's significance in regulating land encroachment from neighbouring West Pokot.
Kindiki said he will operationalize three remaining sub-counties within two weeks to increase the number of administrative units so that they can have government security enforcement and infrastructure close to the people.
He said having accessed the security situation in Turkana, they tend to increase the number of NPRs in Turkana to 468 to work closely with the security team.
Kindiki said the NPRs will be deployed to Turkana East, Turkana South, Loima, Nadapal in Lokichogio, Kibish and Todonyang in Turkana North to beef up security.
