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Kisii and Maasai Told to Keep Off Disputed Border Plot

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Published on Thursday, 07 April 2011 23:59

Residents of Trans Mara West and Gucha South districts have been ordered to keep off a disputed piece of land. Trans Mara West DC Mathioya Mbogo yesterday said there will be no activity on the disputed land until the ownership row between the Kisii and Maasai communities is resolved."The security team has agreed that members of the two communities should keep off the disputed land until we find a lasting solution to this problem," Mbogo said.

Members of Keiyan Group Ranch and the Kisii community are claiming ownership of the land and Mbogo said provincial surveyors from Nyanza and Rift Valley will resolve the row.

The disputed piece of land is on the boundary of the two provinces."We expect the surveyors to demarcate the boundary so that we resolve this long-standing dispute once and for all because it has led to sporadic clashes along the border," the DC said."The dispute will die a natural death once the surveyors complete their work and we want it done soon because it may cause clashes."

Tension has been high along the border after a farmer was last week arrested for cultivating on the disputed land by Keiyan Group Ranch security guards. The farmer has since been charged with trespassing on private property in a Kilgoris court and is out on bond. Last Friday, Mbogo and his Gucha South counterpart held a meeting at Nyamaiya market and called for calm between members of the Kisii and Maasai communities.