End bloody land feuds
What you need to know:
- The team appointed by Dr Matiang’i is made up of a small special security team and inter-ministerial officials.
- The omission of politicians from the group sends a firm signal about the commitment to fairly resolve the crisis.
- Dozens of people have been killed and scores of others maimed in the protracted dispute.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s intervention will, hopefully, end a land feud in the Rift Valley that has persisted for 20 years. The CS has appointed a special multi-agency task force to end the bloody perennial conflict in eastern Mau. The team has 11 weeks to complete its work.
President Kenyatta has said he wants to see the people living in harmony and going about the business of growing food for their families and creating wealth from the soil.
The team appointed by Dr Matiang’i is made up of a small special security team and inter-ministerial officials, who are expected to work with the local county and regional commissioners. The omission of politicians from the group sends a firm signal about the commitment to fairly resolve the crisis.
It’s also instructive that Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney and her Environment counterpart Keriako Tobiko are involved as their respective dockets have a say in land tenure and use, not just in this part of the Rift Valley, but also in other counties. Mr Tobiko has, in recent months, launched a crusade to recover irregularly allocated forestland countrywide.
Whereas politicians tend to incite their supporters and fuel conflicts even where their claims have no basis, impartial government officials can inspire confidence in feuding communities. This task force should consult widely and seek the best counsel and, when a decision is made to resettle the displaced, it should be done fairly.
Dozens of people have been killed and scores of others maimed in the protracted dispute and the region rocked by flare-ups. That should stop henceforth.
However, the special team must emphasise to all and sundry that destruction of water catchment areas and forests will never be tolerated. The future of these belligerent communities and the country at large lies in the conservation of these natural resources. They must be protected at all costs.
