Military, Isiolo county to solve land tussles within 10 days

The County government of Isiolo and the Kenya Defence Forces have agreed to resolve a protracted land dispute pitting the locals and the School of Infantry (SOI).

In a high-level meeting on Wednesday, elected leaders, religious leaders, opinion leaders and top KDF officials met to air out their indifferences.

It was agreed that the land standoff would be solved within 10 days. 

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale emphasized that the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Defence, is committed to safeguarding the lives of all Kenyans and at the same time defending and protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

"We have possible solutions that can eventually lead to an amicable settlement of land tussles that exist between the Ministry and some locals. However, security is a crucial enabling factor for socio-economic development that we cannot ignore," he said.

Isiolo County plays host to at least Four Military installations, namely the Seventy-eighth Tank Batallion, The School of Infantry (SOI), The School of Artillery (SOA), and the School of Combat Engineering (SOCE), with residents accusing the soldiers of forcefully shifting the boundary to the land they were allocated by community elders to set up their camps.

"The Government has invested in the Ministry of Defence to have enough training grounds for our soldiers to accommodate their war theatre apparatus to combat contemporary security threats," Duale added.

On his end, Isiolo Governor Abdi Hassan Guyo reassured the community members that his administration is committed to resolving the land row that overstayed for years.

"Since the defence is a friend to the Isiolo community, we will be holding several meetings to explore ways for the community and the defence to coexist harmoniously," he said.

The county chief also insisted that both the community and military should coexist even as they try to get a solution to the tussle.

Isiolo Women Representative  Mumina Bonya expressed optimism that a long-lasting solution could be found in the future, addressing the concerns of the community.

The local Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) who were present during the meeting included Ngaremara MCA Peter Losu, Burat MCA Hon Nicholas Lorot, and Wabera MCA Salesio Kiambi.

Last month, leaders from Isiolo accused military officers of harassment to their host communities in the protracted row to evict locals from their ancestral land, in a bid to expand training bases for soldiers.

 Deputy Governor James Lowasa said that the military officers were going against the law by directly engaging civilians, and intimidating them with threats of demolishing their houses.

Lowasa said harassment by the military has persevered even after CS Duale recently assured locals that the land tussle with the Kenya Defence Forces was being resolved through Presidential intervention.

Earlier, Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo assured of her commitment to the quest for justice for residents involved in a protracted land dispute with KDF.

Burat ward residents are the most affected with at least six villages reporting to have received eviction threats by the military.

Dullo said she has since 2019 when the communities were served with an eviction notice, been supporting the locals and had even secured a court order barring either of the parties from conducting any activity on the disputed piece of land.