[Source: The Standard, by Ali Abdi]
Hundreds of residents from Isiolo and Meru counties have accused the military of encroaching on their land.
Residents yesterday staged demos in various urban centres in both Isiolo and Meru to pile pressure on several units of the army to vacate their properties.
One group concluded its demonstrations at Kiwanja and Epinding centres in Ngaremara, Meru while the group from Isiolo was at Ramadhan.
They accused Kenya Army’s School of Artillery (SOI) and 78 Tank Battalion of encroaching on their ancestral land.
At Kiwanja, angry protesters brought down the signboard erected by SOI and demanded the army should remain within its demarcated land.
Activists Joseph Kalapata, Peter Losu and Osman Dima who led the protests, said despite intervention by Senate Committee on Security that met elders from communities in Isiolo and Meru in May last year, the matter remains unresolved.
The committee, led by Garissa Senator Yussuf Haji, had told community leaders the tussle with the army over their land would be discussed and an amicable solution reached.
Residents from the two counties had urged the team that has Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo, to prevail on the Department of Defence to move activities out of their land.
The other units of the army residents accused of encroaching on their land are School of Infantry (SOI) at Maili Saba and School of Combat Engineering (SOCE) at Choka in Isiolo.
