I am ready to end Keroka Town row, says Nyamira governor
Keroka Town, which is at the border of Kisii and Nyamira counties and has been at the centre of a dispute over tax zones.
What you need to know:
- He said he would only do so if some areas Kisii was laying claim to were also reverted to them.
- Governors, he added, should step in to help stop further brawls over tax zones.
- The governor said it was shameful for them to continue fighting yet demarcations were well known.
- Last week, Nyaribari Masaba MP Mr Elijah Moindi called for dialogue as the way out of the border row.
Nyamira Governor John Nyagarama has said he is ready to pull out revenue officers from the contested sections of Keroka Town as part of efforts to end the dispute with Kisii County over demarcations.
Mr Nyagarama wanted the border row laid to rest once and for all.
“We should not fight over Keroka and if Kisii County is really interested in taking away their portion of the town, they are free to do so for the sake of peace,” he said.
However, he said he would only do so if some areas Kisii was laying claim to were also reverted to them, saying they were losing huge amounts of revenue.
“They should also surrender our portions in Kisii Town where they had been collecting revenue meant for us,” he said.
DEMARCATIONS WELL KNOWN
The governor said it was shameful for them to continue fighting yet demarcations were well known.
Governors, he added, should step in to help stop further brawls over tax zones.
In a new twist of events, Mr Nyagarama said Mwabundusi/Bwabosire area that covers Kisii Bottlers, Jogoo estate and Gusii Institute as part of Kisii Town needed to be surrendered to Nyamira County.
“Let Kisii County take its portion in Keroka Town and we also take our portion in Kisii Town so that there is peace.
“It is unfortunate that the boundary dispute between us has reached a point where our people from either side are carrying machetes and shedding each other’s blood over this issue,” he said.
Last week, Nyaribari Masaba MP Mr Elijah Moindi called for dialogue as the way out of the border row.
He asked Governor James Ongwae (Kisii) and Mr Nyagarama to sit and hammer out a deal on finding a long-term solution to the impasse.
A meeting in Kisumu early this week between Mr Ongwae and Mr Nyagarama failed to resolve the row after the latter claimed more sections from the Kisii County side.
Mr Moindi said the scuffles that constantly witnessed in Keroka over revenue zones can be averted if the governors moved to speedily find a solution.
