Kitui East MP Nimrod Mbai speaks with Somali herders at Kinanie in Endau. They agreed that North Eastern herders will leave in Kitui. Photo;nation.co.ke)
Communities living along the border of Kitui and Tana River counties have reached an agreement to end the perennial conflicts between the Kamba community and pastoralists from North Eastern.
The constant conflict between the communities living along the border is due to the scramble for pasture and water.
The communities reached an agreement after a meeting which was chaired by Kitui East MP Nimrod Mbai and Mutitu Deputy County Commissioner Banjamin Nzioka was called following a spate of killings and destruction of property.
Mr Mbai who was speaking in Kitui said the herders and their animals should not be allowed to enter the county in order to live peacefully and stop the constant conflicts which have led to the loss of human lives.
“Part of our resolution is to get rid of intruders from other communities who are depleting the limited resources we have. Somali herders have to pave way for the new dispensation, and that is why we have first adopted the negotiation way,” said Mr Mbai.
Mr Nzioka called on leaders from the neighbouring Garissa, Isiolo and Tana River counties to stop herders from entering Kitui to graze their animals.
He said the herders from other regions should leave the Kamba land within the next ten days as a way of maintaining peace and avert possible future clashes.
“The Kamba community requests you to leave their land as their pasture is almost depleted and they are currently facing acute water shortage. If they will not have left within 10 days, we will still insist they leave,” said Mr Nzioka.
The conflicts between herders of Somali origin and residents farming along the border of the two counties have led to more than 30 people losing their lives while many others were maimed and property destroyed in 2017 alone.