Maasai elders led by Ntimama threaten to recall Narok Governor

BY MARGARET KANINI AND WILFRED AYAGA

Maasai elders led by former Heritage minister William Ole Ntimama on Friday threatened to recall Narok governor Samuel Ole Tunai over what they claimed was mismanagement of county affairs.

Speaking in Nairobi, the various leaders who also included former Transport and Licensing Board (TLB) chairman, Hassan Ole Kamwaro raised issues which they claimed the governor had deliberately refused to address during his time in office.

They accused him of failing to consult them before making major decisions affecting the county.

Also, the Maasai leaders are opposed to the plan by the Narok county government to expand Narok town on a 700-acre piece of land without consulting the local community who they claim own the land.

“The Maasai have suffered on issues of land since colonialism and we will not sit back to watch people grab our heritage,” Ntimama said.

The land, located in Limanet has been a source of conflict between the county government and the locals who want a say in any decision affecting the land’s annexation.

The former minister said that the issues that they had raised had the potential to cause conflict in the county and argued that the only solution would be to recall the governor.

“Due to these issues, we are invoking article 181 of the constitution to say that the county governor must be removed as he had abused his power,” he stated.

The former minister accused the governor of seeking to create conflict in Narok County by inciting communities against each other.

“He has employed an army of sycophants whom he uses to divide the community,” he claimed.

The Chairman of the council of elders Joseph Ole Kario said that although they were not opposed to development, the county government needed to consult them before making decisions affecting the electorate.

“We are not opposed to development, but there must be consultation between the country government and the community. The land he is proposing for development encompasses people’s, homesteads” the elder claimed.

The leaders urged the governor to be more cautious when dealing with community land as land is a very emotive issue especially among the Maasais. The leaders argued they will not want to see conflict arise due to failure of consultation.

Other complaints raised by the leaders include mismanagement of county funds, especially revenue collected from the Massa Mara game reserve.

They claimed that the governor had failed to account for money from the former Trans Mara County council which was combined with Narok county council under the new devolved form of government.