Council questions acquisition of land under oil

By Isaiah Lucheli

Turkana County Council has termed the acquisition of land by individuals and institutions in the area where oil has been discovered as illegal.

Local leaders also hit out at Ministry of Energy officials and the Provincial Administration for keeping the council in the dark over the oil exploration process yet it is the custodian of land in the county.

"We are not opposed to the drilling of oil but we are dismayed that we were kept in the dark and only came to know about it when the President made the disclosure.

A lot of information has now emerged to our disadvantage as true custodians of the land where the oil has been discovered.

We have been relegated to the periphery," said the council’s chairman Eliud Long’acha Kerio.

Mr Long’acha, who was accompanied by Turkana professional’s chairman Ekuru Aukot, demanded that the council be furnished with information on the size and number of blocks under oil exploration, organisations given the initial hydro-carbon exploration licences and the fee paid to the Government.

"In line with our new Constitution we have instructed our lawyers to invoke Article 35 of the Constitution as well as the functions of the County Government as provided for in the Fourth Schedule and demand all the relevant information concerning the exploration and licensing," he said.

Establish discovery

The council also wants to know how the licence of exploration had been transferred and how the locals were involved and if any individual or organisation had been paid for the parcel of land under the project.

The council further wants to establish how the land in Ngamia 1 where oil was discovered was sold out without the consent and involvement of the local authority.

"We want to know how the ministries of Energy and Lands transferred the said land and other parcels from the local residents to strangers.

We demand to know the sellers and purchasers of the property, lawyers involved, purchase price and copies of the documents including title deeds, consent and transfers," said the chairman.

Long’cha said the civic authority would engage relevant authorities to ensure that the drilling and exploration was done in accordance with the law, regulations and the blessings of the people of Turkana.

"We would also begin a process of creating awareness among the community on the social and economic impact of oil exploration on our people both positive and negative and enlighten the people that the Constitution protects our right of ownership and participation be it in decision on exploration of natural resources," he said.