President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to gift Uganda a piece of land in Naivasha for the construction of a dry port has been met with resistance.
Political analyst Prof Edward Kisiang'ani says the move was unacceptable.
Speaking in Mombasa on Wednesday, Uhuru asked Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni to construct the dry port for Ugandan cargo, adding that the move was part of the deal to extend the SGR to Kampala in collaboration with Uganda.
“I have confirmed to President Museveni that with that development in Naivasha and then moving the SGR to Malaba, goods will be able to move from Mombasa to Malaba in just two days," Uhuru said, adding that by August this year, SGR construction would have reached Naivasha.
However, Kisiang'ani opines that Kenya should have built the dry port and charge Uganda for using it instead of gifting the land to the neighbouring country.
Further, he says, Kenya needs a conversation over the decision before it's implemented.
"Just wondering aloud! Isn't it more beneficial for us to build our own inland port at Naivasha then charge Uganda for using it than giving Uganda our land so it builds its own inland port in our country? I don't understand this deal. Help me please!" tweeted Kisiang'ani.
"In my view, we need a national conversation before the govt implements President Uhuru Kenyata's declaration to give land to Uganda to build an inland port in Naivasha," he added.
After the talks in Mombasa, Museveni became the first visiting head of state to use Kenya's SGR in a journey that took around four hours from Mombasa to Nairobi on Thursday.
The SGR has been one of the mega flagship projects of President Kenyatta.