Kenya: Differences between members of Pokot and Turkana communities played out yesterday during a fact-finding mission by a Senate committee on security.
A planned joint meeting, which was expected to take place at the disputed Kapedo centre, was split into two camps after angry Turkanas supported by their leaders threatened to paralyse the talks.
Led by Senate Defence, National Security and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Yusuf Haji, the team was forced to hear the concerns of the two communities concerns separately, but a few yards apart.
Turkana Senator John Munyes and Turkana East MP Nicholas Nixon led the Turkana side in fighting to retain the small town, the cause of recent conflicts in the area that caused the death of 22 administration police officers who were ambushed and killed at Kasarani along the Kapedo-Lomelo road in December.
According to the two leaders, the Turkana community had lived in the town for decades and knows the place as their only home.
A move by the Turkana to storm the second meeting attended by Baringo Senator Gideon Moi and Governor Benjamin Cheboi at Kapedo Guest House almost turned chaotic after their leaders swore not to allow the meeting to proceed.
It took the effort of Senator Munyes who pleaded with the surging group to leave the venue that was surrounded by security officers led by Baringo County Commissioner Peter Okwanyo.
Tiaty MP Asman Kamama led the Pokot community in presenting to the committee a 12-page memorandum that included documents, tax collection books, and records of civil servant postings, among other exhibits, as the reason Kapedo should remain in Baringo.
Kamama, who is also the National Assembly National Security committee chairman threatened to take the matter to the African Court of Justice in case the two House committees failed to resolve it.
MAINTAIN CALM
In 1991, he said Finnish missionaries handed over all their facilities and staff in Kapedo to Baringo District Commissioner Cyrus Maina and not to Turkana County.
Haji urged the rival communities to maintain calm, saying their findings would be tabled before the Senate in the next one month.
Addressing the committee, Gideon made it clear that it was not in the interest of Baringo people to evict members of the Turkana community but to ensure county boundaries were respected.
Others present were GG Kariuki (Laikipia), Mike Sonko (Nairobi) and Deputy Senate Speaker James Gitura.
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