You don’t have any mandate to do county boundary separation, Garissa MCAs to Saleh

Garissa Members of County Assembly have accused outgoing Northeastern regional commissioner Mohamud Saleh   for allegedly making negative remarks on the disputed boundary between Isiolo south and Lagdera constituencies. (Courtesy)

GARISSA—Garissa Members of County Assembly have accused outgoing Northeastern regional commissioner Mohamud Saleh of urging the county commissioner to forcibly evict people in disputed areas including Baraki ward and Aqal-Arr area.

The MCAs criticized Saleh for allegedly making negative remarks on the disputed boundary between Isiolo south and Lagdera constituencies.

The county legislators noted that according to the Constitution, the only way a county boundary may be altered is by a resolution recommended by an independent commission set up for that purpose.

“Saleh has no mandate to do inter-county boundary demarcations,” Goriale MCA Abdirahman Mohamed said.

“We reiterate and boldly state the fact that Northeastern region and Garissa in particular cannot afford to be shackled by violence in all forms. We will equally not accept government officers to incite people to violence,” added the MCA.

The former Northeastern regional commissioner however denied making such obstructive comments.

“I would be the last person to incite communities against each other knowing very well how emotive boundary issues are in this region. I did not at all mention any specific place to define the borders. All I did was to talk about areas that have had long-standing border issues across the region in the three counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa,” noted Saleh.

He led a security team in a two hour closed door meeting with his Eastern counterpart, Wycliffe Ogallo in Garbatulla as government stepped in to end the protracted boarder dispute that has left over 100 people dead and property worth millions of shillings in the past 10 years.

Addressing the press at Eldere last month, during a fact finding mission on the disputed border, Saleh hinted at the possibility of revisiting the infamous Modogashe declaration of 2001 that ensured peace along the common border.

“If revisiting the declaration will bring peace to area, then we shall revisit it. However in this time and era, Kenyans should not be fighting over boundaries,” Saleh said.

On  August 29 ,2001, community leaders from the then Eastern Province (Moyale, Marsabit and Isiolo), and North-Eastern Province (Wajir, Mandera and Garissa), together with their respective Provincial and District Security and Intelligence Committees met at Modogashe in Isiolo to discuss and find solutions to the security problems that had made the region a no-go zone.

In March, the Senate Security Committee said it would push for the approval of the County Boundaries Bill to help end disputes across the country.