Construction of the Kenya-Somalia border wall has been temporarily suspended to pave way for bilateral talks between the two countries.
Mandera Governor Ali Roba and his Gedo counterpart Mohamed A. Mohamed from Somalia revealed that the two countries have agreed to temporarily stop construction of the security wall.
The construction was halted amid tensions in Mandera Town and Bulahawa in Somalia over a dispute in which some 64 houses have been earmarked for demolition to pave way for border wall construction.
Governor Roba said the decision was reached to quell the rising tension which is fuelled by social media propaganda causing fear among people living near the border.
Mr. Roba said the negative propaganda has made locals living near the border on the Somalia side believe that they would be evicted and their houses demolished.
“There is a lot of negative propaganda particularly on the Somalia side with respect to border security programme but we are here to confirm that all that is false.”
“As you can see we are peaceful and we have suspended the construction of the border wall to allow for negotiations between the two countries,” said Mr Roba.
Governor Mohammed on his part said constructions have stopped to allow the two countries to agree on issues that will affect the locals near the border.
He said issues to be discussed include the reason for the project, its effects on daily activities and the fate of the homes that would be affected.
“Our message here is that the construction stops until the two national governments come together to agree on some issues on the table. The people living here have a long history of depending on one another and separating them needs negotiations to solve the problem,” said Mr. Mohammed.
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