By Boniface Ongeri
Civil society groups in Garissa on Monday asked the incoming North Eastern Provincial Commissioner Ernest Munyi to sustain the war on land grabbing in the region.
Northern Forum for Democracy coordinator, Khalif Abdi Farah, said outgoing PC James ole Serian had done a great job in fighting land grabbing and corruption.
“Serian is the only PC who leaves the province without grabbing. Instead, he almost single handedly fought cartels involved in selling public utility lands,” said Farah.
He said Serian’s war with grabbers often placed him on collision course with some leaders who were backing grabbers for political expediency.
Serian, who has been transferred to Western Province, said it was an honour to serve North Eastern Province and asked residents to support the new team in tackling insecurity.
EMOTIVE ISSUE
Land is an emotive issue in the province especially in Garissa where it is the cause of deadly inter-clan clashes. He said clever cartels circumvented the 1999 presidential decree on land and forged letters to appear the land was allocated before the ban.
“The new PC will face challenges from land grabbers who will even offer bribes and set the community against him for not towing their line, but he should remain steadfast,” said Farah.
