House team roots for special committee to end clan wars

Mandera, Kenya; A parliamentary group has proposed the formation of a committee of eminent persons to lead efforts in resolving the ongoing conflict in Mandera County.

A draft proposal put together by the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group led by Majority Leader Aden Duale is rooting for the independent committee to be appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta. He said its members will conduct impartial fact-finding mission in the county to get to the root causes of the conflict that has claimed scores of lives.

Yesterday, Mandera South MP Mohammed Adan Huka said the committee should be composed of distinguished persons from outside Mandera and the entire North Eastern region for the sake of objectivity. He added that a similar strategy has worked well in Marsabit County.

"Part of the problem in resolving the conflict in the past has been the issue of too many claims and counter-claims that are being advanced by the conflicting communities. An independent committee will be able to go to the ground, get the facts and propose the way forward," he said.

The Garre and Degodia communities have been accusing each other of being behind the conflict and various attempts by the Government to intervene has often attracted accusations of bias and lack of understanding of the situation.