Isiolo community elders reject land committee recommendations

Community elders in Isiolo County have rejected attempts by the Parliamentary Committee on Land to resolve outstanding disputes within the County, warning that any attempts to revoke the 2008-2009 land balloting process would cause chaos in the county.

The warning, issued by representatives of the Borana, Somali, Samburu and Turkana communities, forced the House Committee to visit Isiolo. Okoa Jahazi Sacco, whose members argue that they were denied justice in the land balloting process because of increased corruption, demanded for the revocation of the whole process.

“Before the balloting process, residents lived in harmony unlike now when people are always clashing over parcels of land – land that once had clear owners,” said Wabera ward MCA Salesio Kiambi.

The petition has now elicited a sharp reaction from elders drawn from four communities. Led by the Borana council of elders’ chairperson Abdullahi Gonjobe, the elders said that the Parliamentary Land Committee failed to discharge its responsibility as required by law, adding that their visit may cause more problems than solutions.

The elders accused the committee listening to only one side of the story, thus putting the community at a disadvantage.

“The Okoa Jahazi petitioners are largely people from other regions who are out to benefit from the various vision 2030 flagship projects set to be rolled out soon in the county,” Gonjobe stressed.

He further advised the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Majority Leader and his opposition counterpart to treat the report by the committee with utmost care, warning that the implementation of such recommendations could trigger violence.

Isiolo North Member of Parliament Joseph Samal called upon the aggrieved parties to observe peace and wait for an action to be taken once the report by the committee is adopted by the National Assembly.

He asked the County Government to fast-track the process of land planning, surveying and demarcation so that residents can obtain land ownership documents soon.

The committee listened to submissions from the aggrieved parties and promised to advise the National Land Commission and the county’s land management board to revoke the balloting process should the investigations find that it is the root cause of the current land disputes.