Govt stops land adjudications in Eastern, North Eastern regions until after polls

The government has frozen land adjudications in Eastern and North Eastern regions until after the General Election. 

The creation of new administration units (sub-locations, locations, divisons and sub-counties) as units of service delivery has also been put on hold.

The move was announced by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i on Tuesday while speaking shortly after a high-level meeting with security officers from the counties in Isiolo.

The CS said the decision was informed by the need to avoid milking political capital out of the exercises and avoid exacerbating ethnic, clan, and other potential disagreements around the process.

 He said although the creation of new units is intended to deliver government services closer to citizens, the process had been hijacked by leaders for political aggrandizement and partisan agendas.

“Even when we have tried to create some of these administrative units with all the good intentions, slowly, but surely, it looks like we are engendering a new conflict,” Dr. Matiang’i said.

A number of counties in the regions have been experiencing cross-border conflicts around disputed boundaries and access to resources such as land, pasture and water.

These county boundaries include Meru-Isiolo, Meru-Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo-Garissa, Kitui-Tana River, Makueni-Taita Taveta and Makueni-Kajiado.

CS Matiang'i also termed the by- law passed by the Meru County assembly forbidding herders from other counties from grazing their animals in Meru as regrettable and asked the leaders to re-consider their stance on the matter.

"Our democracy has come of age because our management now is being done in a more consultative, interactive and inclusive manner and we shall engage all our leaders from different levels so that we solve this issue through a process of discussion," he said.

The CS also noted that climate change, which has seen many parts of the country experiencing hunger and drought spells, has also increased the conflict with herders bearing the brunt and traveling many kilometres to seek pasture and water for their animals and in the process find themselves in other counties where they are attacked by the locals.

To mitigate the conflicts, the National Government will work closely with county administrations to work out acceptable water and pasture access treaties especially between nomadic pastoralists and farmers.

“We hope to develop the mechanism of putting together these communities that are involved through their leaders so that resources are shared peacefully,” the CS said.

On the banditry attacks and flare-ups over grazing fields along the border of Meru and Isiolo, Dr Matiang’i said specialised security units in the region will be redeployed to patrol the boundary.

Concerning the upcoming election, the CS urged political leaders to conduct themselves in a peaceful and respectful manner to avoid unnecessary conflicts that arise in the electioneering period.