At the risk of being robbed of a significant proportion of supporters in inter-clan wrangles, Isiolo Governor Godana Doyo has been on a drive to woo people of the Meru community in the area.
The governor recently met members of the community at Mwangaza estate where he was also crowned a Meru Elder. Elders at the function also endorsed the governor for a second term, should he vie, saying he had performed well in the two years he has been in office.
Doyo sought to reach to the heart of the community by directing the Department of Lands to move with speed and revoke allotment letters and titles of individuals owning more than 50 plots within Mwangaza, Chechelsi and Kiwanjani areas which are all occupied by members of the Meru community.
He said residents who own huge chunks of land within the areas would stand to lose because some of them were illegally acquired.
Addressing the public at Mwangaza, the governor assured legitimate land owners that his government would come up with measures to address their plight. “I want to send signals out there that we will never accept individuals with other motives to grab land at the expense of the poor communities in the area,” he said.
He said his office would recommend that the Department of Lands issues documents to hundreds of the locals who do not have land registration papers when the county government holds celebrations to mark two years in office.
Doyo directed the County Secretary for Lands, Mr Suleiman Shunu, and Isiolo Town Administrator Ali Godana to establish a committee that will identify legitimate plot owners ahead of the event. The Mwangaza area hosts squatters comprising members of the Meru community and has been in the limelight recently owing to land tussles and general insecurity in the county.
The governor appears to be wooing the minority community mostly concentrated in Isiolo North after he fell out with clans in his Borana community which have the majority of voters in the county. The fallout has precipitated a crisis in the county assembly and is threatening to derail development in the area.
The Borana community has 17 clans, but most of the 15 small ones mostly align themselves with the principal Karayu or Warghida clans. Doyo belongs to the Warjida, while Abu Bahari (TNA), who he beat in 2013, comes from the Karayu clan. Mohamed Tubi, the Isiolo County Assembly Speaker, is also from the Karayu clan. Bahari was previously MP for Isiolo South, before incumbent Abdullahi Banticha. Banticha and Senator Mohamed Kuti have kept away from the county assembly wrangles. Isiolo Woman representative iya Galgalo has sided with the speaker.
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join