Casualties of Migingo row should be compensated by both governments

The dispute on Migingo island in Migori County, Nyatike Sub–county is a tired story. It is a sad story between two neighbours Kenya and Uganda on a boundary dispute. And it‘s a story that has dragged on since it first popped up in 2003 when Uganda declared that the island is geographically located in the country and not Kenya. The Ugandan government went ahead and deployed security personnel to the island and erected their national flag.

Since then, Kenyans have been fed with horrendous tales of inhumane treatment and torture by the Ugandan security officers. At some point, after pressure from the public led by politicians, a joint boundary survey team was established to help the two neighbours amicably solve the boundary row. Kenyan taxpayers paid a good chunk of the cost. The joint boundary survey team wound up soon afterwards and all went silent. The findings were never made public.

The silence over the disputed boundary has though been punctuated with occasional reports of harassment of Kenyan fishermen who are arbitrarily arrested and their fishing gear confiscated by the Ugandan security officers.

But the recent arrest of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) voter registration clerks has heightened the suffering Kenyans on the island go through. The assault of a Kenyan police officer who tried to stop his Ugandan counterparts from arresting a local chief over claims of sharing intelligence with the Kenyan government, is in bad taste. At this point we have to stand together as a nation regardless of our political affiliations and say enough is enough of the Migingo island drama. The President, by virtue of being the Commander–In–Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, has a constitutional obligation to secure our boundaries. The government should not look the other way anymore as innocent Kenyans suffer at the hands of foreigners.

Government emissaries should immediately be dispatched to Uganda to broker a lasting solution to this conflict. In fact, the Kenyans who have been casualties in the Migingo island boundary row should be compensated by the two governments. The Migingo island saga stands as a classic case of injustice meted on helpless citizens. From the rooftops I loudly proclaim that the time to put the Migingo story to rest is now. Over to you Mr President.