The construction of a multi-agency security installation along the Moyale-Isiolo-Marsabit road corridor has been discontinued, and the site abandoned, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced.
The decision was reached after it emerged that the proposed site for the facility had caused friction between leaders and residents from the two counties.
Speaking after meeting leaders from the two counties in Nairobi, Murkomen said the site identified for the construction of the facility was contested by Marsabit and Wajir counties.
Following the deliberations, it was also agreed that the North Eastern and Eastern regional security teams, led by Regional Commissioners John Otieno and Jacob Muganda, respectively, identify a new site.
Murkomen said the process would be undertaken in consultation with the National Security Council and that the facility would be national in nature.
“Leaders, together with NGAOs, will hold public barazas to diffuse tension in the area and bring the communities together. The boundary dispute between the two counties will be handled by the relevant government institutions, including IEBC,” he stated.
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He added: “We wish to assure the residents of the two counties that we shall expedite the establishment of the security facility once a new site has been identified.”
The Moyale-Marsabit-Isiolo road corridor has been identified as a major conduit for arms, narcotics, human trafficking and other transnational crimes.
Security agencies in the region had requested the establishment of a multi-agency facility along the stretch to enhance security coverage.