A border dispute is simmering after Nandi laid claim to seven towns in neighbouring Kisumu County. The towns are near the border of the two counties. Nandi County wants the National Land Commission to re-adjust its common border to place Chemelil, Muhoroni, Miwani, Kibigori, Kibos, Koru and Kopere within its borders.

The towns adjacent to the railway line traversing the two counties are rich in resources, boasting of large-scale rice and sugarcane farming, among others. Nandi claims the towns were initially on its side but were taken away during the colonial era and placed under Kisumu. “The county will be presenting a formal petition to the Land Commission to adjust the current Nandi-Kisumu administrative border with intent to return Nandi's ancestral homes along Chemelil, Kopere, Koru, Kibos, Kibigori, Miwani, Muhoroni and all surrounding areas near the said towns,” said governor Stephen Sang when he met NLC commissioners on May 17.

The areas claimed are along the Nyando River, which officials claim served as the natural border before the Nandis were displaced by settlers. Some of the towns Nandi is claiming, such as Kibos, are barely 10 kilometres from Kisumu Town. Nandi has already constituted a team of legal experts, who include land and litigation lawyers Jane Masaa and Henry Keneito, to draft the petition.

The team will also look into all historical land injustices Nandi County claims were meted out to its people. Other