• Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi has asked the Senate to initiate a boundary delimitation process to resolve the dispute between Kisumu and Vihiga counties.
• Osotsi said other counties with boundary disputes should also be addressed.
Image: MARTIN OMBIMA
Vihiga leaders have raised concerns over Maseno town boundaries, a week after the Kisumu administration upgraded it into an urban centre.
Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi has asked the Senate to initiate a boundary delimitation process to resolve the dispute between Kisumu and Vihiga counties.
Osotsi said other counties with boundary disputes should also be considered for riview.
He said the disquiet over the decision by Kisumu to upgrade Maseno as an academic and urban centre on September 10 should be resolved without politicising the issue.
"It's important for the two counties to find a balance between development and the boundary to develop the area to avoid denying people access to government services over the dispute," he said.
Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo and Senator George Khaniri said the leadership of both counties should undertake public participation to get the views of the communities.
They said public participation should be done before undertaking development of the area rather than bulldoze issues that can escalate tensions.
Ottichilo said that the leadership in the county will continue to follow up with Parliament in the dispute and they're ready to co-operate with the County Government of Kisumu to develop a common heritage.
"We have demonstrated goodwill and utmost good faith by going beyond the call of duty to supply water to the area of Maseno and its environs through our county entity known as Amatsi Water Company. We undertake to continue offering this service and any other that is trans-boundary to improve the lives of our people who in the area," the governor said.
Ottichilo said the boundary dispute was not unique to Vihiga and Kisumu.
Khaniri said Emabungo ward residents are concerned Kisumu is only interested in the public institutions around Maseno such as Maseno University, Maseno School, and Kenya Forestry Research Institution (Kefri) Maseno.
The county government is, however, not interested in the needs of the local people such as roads, bursaries and administrative services.
Khaniri said he had raised the issue in Parliament several times, most recently in the last term through a request for statement and as a public petition in the current one.
He said it was imperative for the leadership of Kisumu county to ensure the boundary question in Maseno is resolved amicably before embarking on any development endeavours.
"It will be unfortunate for Kisumu county to bulldoze development projects in the area and in the process aggrieve certain portion of the local community," he said.
The Maseno land dispute dates back to 1962 when the boundary between then Kisumu and Kakamega districts was allegedly marked erroneously. The result was that Maseno land was annexed to be part of Kisumu.
There remains a simmering disquiet on the issue as the community living in the area persistently push for a new boundary survey to be undertaken to correct the error.