Boundary: Rift leaders split on right direction

By Philip Ruto

Rift Valley MPs appear to be reading from a different script from the region’s political chess master, former President Moi, on the boundaries review setting the stage for a new round of bruising political battles.

Moi has come out clear over his opposition to the splitting of the country’s vastest province into smaller units.

The former President’s contention is that the clustering of the province he calls home to all Kenyan communities will result in causing unnecessary ethnic frictions.

But the MPs, all of whom are Moi’s political students, will hear none of this and insist the region should be subdivided.

They argue that whereas the region has been under represented, its subdivision will be in tandem with the desired devolution of resources, especially in regions perceived to have been neglected by successive regimes.

The MPs, led by Agriculture Minister William Ruto who is widely seen as the province’s political torchbearer, have backed President Kibaki’s recent appointment of four deputies to the PC, suggesting plans for four sub-provinces.

Spirit of draft

The MPs presented a joint memorandum to the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC) in which they are pushing for the split of the province into South Rift, Central Rift, North Rift and Upper North.

Splitting of the province is in line with the spirit of the Bomas draft of the constitution, they said.

But Moi says altering of the provincial boundaries and creating of districts along constituency boundaries was misguided and unacceptable.

His standpoint was captured in a short memorandum he forwarded to the Andrew Ligale-led commission in Nakuru.

Interestingly, the former president has received support from an unlikely quarter, his former ally turned adversary Nicholas Biwott.

Mr Biwott, a former Keiyo MP who wielded immense power during Moi’s regime, told the commission that disrupting the existing provincial boundaries would be tantamount to destabilising the region.

According to Biwott, who is also the chairman of the National Vision Party, sub provinces should be drawn afresh with proper consultation with the communities from the region and other stakeholders.

Biwott’s stand is seen to go in the direction of his closer relations with Moi after a fete the former President was accorded by the people of Keiyo.

In the ceremony in which Moi thanked the people of Keiyo for standing behind him during his 24 years in power, the former president also used the occasion to plead with Biwott to return to Kanu and work together as before. Biwott’s move is largely seen as seeking a stake in the vote-rich province owing to his presidential ambition in 2012.

Matter of conviction

The former minister has proposed to the IIBRC that Mt Elgon in Western Province be moved to Rift Valley.

A source in the ODM circles said the apparent pull in different directions should not be seen as an affront against the former president.

"The MPs’ stand on the boundaries review is purely a matter of conviction and nothing to do with political supremacy," added the source.

The lawmakers, all from ODM, presented their views under the banner of Rift Valley Parliamentary Group and read to the commission by Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto, a close ally of Eldoret North MP William Ruto.

Mr Ruto (William) accompanied 29 other MPs during the presentation at the Nakuru Municipal Hall, but did not speak.

Kanu, which has a strong footing in the region, did not present its views although sources say it could have forwarded a written memorandum.

The party’s Secretary-General Nick Salat, who is also known to articulate the interests of the party’s Vice-Chairman Gideon Moi, was briefly seen at the venue, but did not address the commission.

In another unprecedented move, Heritage Minister William ole Ntimama, who in the recent past has not been playing on Ruto’s side particularly in the Mau Forest saga, shared in the views.

Devolved system

Ntimama said Rift Valley could only have fair and equal distribution of resources in a devolved system of governance.

Ntimama says the splitting of the province will help address the problems of marginalised communities like the Njemps, Maasai and Turkana, among other minority tribes.

Meanwhile, as the MPs and the former President differ on whether or not the province should be divided into smaller zones, a boundary row was sparked off in Kuresoi District regarding the administrative location of Kamara Division.

The raging controversy pitting members of two different communities almost turned chaotic on Wednesday at a meeting addressed by Kuresoi District Officer Joseph Wafula.

The DO was forced to call off the leaders meeting at Kamara divisional headquarters after members of two communities vowed to out-do each other.

The meeting had been called to seek a common understanding among the warring communities as to where the administrative unit should be placed between Kuresoi and Molo districts.

Civic leaders from both communities who addressed the meeting were unable to reach a consensus.

Those who have been vocal about the need to transfer the division to Molo, among them Councillor Joseph Ngware, argue that Kamara Division was administered from Keringet, the headquarters of Kuresoi District, which was several kilometres away.

 

 

Read all about: Agriculture Minister William Ruto Rift Valley MPs Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission IIBRC reforms Bomas draft Bomas draft

 

 

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