[Source: Daily Nation, by Barnabas Bii]
The boundary dispute among four counties that form the Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) in Western Kenya will take longer than expected to resolve.
The devolved units will have to wait for the creation of a committee to reach a win-win solution as opposed to going through the court process.
This is the case as the National Lands Commission (NLC) has recommended that the Independent County Boundaries Commission be established to deal with the issue.
“Petitioners are advised to await the establishment of the commission as proposed under the County Boundaries Bill, 2015,” ruled NLC in the Kenya Gazette notice of March 1.
The County Boundary Bill seeks to define the boundaries of the counties through establishment of County Boundaries Mediation Committee.
The bill sets out in detail the manner in which the boundaries of the counties are to be altered and will ensure that a high threshold will be met by any party desiring to alter the boundaries of any given county.
The recommendation by the NLC arose from complaints by the Nandi Royal Trust claiming thousands of hectares of land along the Eastern region of Kisumu County.
The disputed land covers Chemelili, Muhoroni and Miwani Sugar Companies.
The NLC, however, dismissed the petition by the group arguing that it does not meet historical land injustice criteria.
The boundary disputes involve Nandi, Kisumu, Kericho and Vihiga counties.
Vihiga County is claiming part of land in Kisumu County occupied by Maseno University while Kericho County wants to reclaim part of the land it alleges was halved to Kisumu County during colonial era.
Governors from the counties invited community elders and other stakeholders for peace talks during the LREB summit held in Nandi-Hills to help resolve issue.
Interviewed residents appealed to the governors to hasten the process of resolving the boundary dispute to promote trade investments in the region.
Traders in such markets like Chemelil, Muhoroni, Kibigori and Miwani among others have businesses across the two counties.
[Full article on: Daily Nation, by Barnabas Bii]
