Residents want Taita-Kajiado border dispute resolved before 2022 elections

Kenyan politicians are notorious for using land issues to seek votes from electorates during electioneering periods.

In Taita Taveta, time and again, candidates seeking political seats have been promising to tackle various land-related issues including landlessness and the protracted border disputes pitting the county and its Kwale, Kajiado and Makueni neighbours.

Even after being elected into office, little is done and it becomes a vicious cycle with no end in sight.

Previously, politicians have tried to settle the border disputes but failed due to lack of goodwill and fear of political backlash from residents and leaders.

Last year governor Granton Samboja vowed to resolve the dispute over Rombo (Kajiado), Macknon Road (Kwale) and Mtito Andei (Makueni).

Ten months later, little progress has been made concerning the talks to end the border wrangles. Further, the county is battling a court case following an agreement it entered with Kajiado over Rombo ranch boundary resolution.

In July last year, governor Samboja and his Kajiado counterpart Joseph Ole Lenku signed a joint dispute resolution agreement to provide a solution for the boundary dispute at Rombo.

It later emerged that part of Taita Taveta land was surrendered to the neighbours forcing a section of Njukini residents to move to court to nullify the agreement.

Backlash

Mr Samboja has received backlash not only from residents but also from fellow leaders including the county assembly who claimed to have been left out of the process.

The matter, which is at the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa, aims at squashing the agreement between the two counties.

Soon after the Kajiado deal, Mr Samboja moved to Kwale where together with governor Salim Mvurya he formed a joint technical team to determine where the boundary lies and find a lasting solution to the dispute that has lasted decades.

Nine months later, no consensus has been reached by the team, which was headed by Land executives of both counties.

Taita Taveta executive for Land Mwandawiro Mghanga dismissed claims that the talks have stalled saying that the process has been interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said both counties are willing to end the dispute but said it will take time to come to an agreement.

"The last physical meeting was held in December but we have been having constant telephone conversations with our Kwale counterparts," he said.

The CEC said the team had resolved to use colonial maps, documents from county commissioners office and elders to establish where the exact boundary lies.

Sources privy to the talks said the county government leadership opted to shelve the process for fear of the expected backlash from residents. This is after it was discovered that Taita Taveta was set to lose part of its land to Kwale.

A lands officer said maps show that the official border between the two counties lies at the Miasenyi area, 11 kilometres into Taita Taveta county.

"The recent maps show that the boundary is near Miasenyi that is why we are looking at older maps and other historical documents to establish the truth. We are also using historical memories from elders to tell us what they know about the boundary of these two counties," the CEC confirmed.

The border disputes could again prove a critical issue in next year's elections, but the residents are now warning politicians against discussing the issue during their campaigns.

“This dispute has been here with us for decades. The politicians come to us during campaign time with promises that they will resolve the dispute but nothing is done. Up to date, we don't know what happened to the talks between Taita Taveta and Kwale leaders," said a Macknon Road resident Mwanahawa Egwa.

Macknon Road residents feel they have been left in the dark concerning the much-publicised negotiations between the two counties.

They now want governor Samboja's government to come clear on the status of talks initiated last year by both counties to find a solution to the long-standing dispute over the area.

"We saw Land officials thrice and we have never heard from them again. We want to know what transpired because we are in the dark," said a resident Christopher Mnyasa.

Land is an emotive issue in the county and just like in previous years, the debate to adjust the county borders will be a key issue ahead of the forthcoming General Election.

"They are now quiet but we know very soon they will come to us promising to tackle the matter if we elect them," Mr Mnyasa lamented.