Border conflict between Meru and Isiolo counties brewing

By Antony Kaikai

A section of political leaders drawn from Isiolo County have criticized a plan by Meru Governor Peter Munya to establish permanent beacons along the disputed common border.

Isiolo County Assembly Speaker Mohamed Tubi says the plan by the governor is a recipe for chaos.

Speaking at the Isiolo County headquarters, Tubi said the statement attributed to Governor Munya amounted to an inflammatory statement “that could be a recipe for chaos pitting members of the public from the two counties.”

Governor is Munya reported to have said that the Meru County government was planning to erect permanent beacons along the disputed border with Isiolo.

The Meru governor is quoted as having said that his administration was embarking on setting up various infrastructural facilities along the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor.

Tubi insists that the border row has not been resolved and it is still part of the historical injustices and needed to be handled with a lot of sobriety.

He called upon the Meru governor to lead by example by obeying the rule of the law, adding that as far as Isiolo County leadership was concerned, the just concluded border demarcation exercise that was ordered by interior cabinet secretary Joseph Nkaissery was still in the pipeline and will be resolved through the involvement of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Isiolo youth leader Mohamed Doyo said that the border issue was emotive to residents of the two Counties and called upon political leaders to go slow to ensure that the row was resolved amicably without invoking bad blood among the public.

Doyo said that the statement by governor Munya was provocative to Isiolo residents, adding that such a move would certainly elicit sharp reactions and opposition by Isiolo residents.

The Isiolo- Meru common border have for years remained a source of conflict among those living in the region.