CORD leader Raila Odinga to marshal opposition to reclaim Migingo Island

CORD leader Raila Odinga has threatened to marshal the opposition to reclaim the disputed Migingo Island if the government does not take action.

Raila says that since President Uhuru Kenyatta has demonstrated failure to repossess the island from Uganda, the opposition will make sure Kenya takes over the Island in Lake Victoria.

The CORD leader is accusing President Kenyatta of failing to talk to his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni to withdraw his troops from the island, hence the need to find an alternative solution to reclaim the island.

Raila was speaking during a stopover at Bondo town after attending the burial of Tom Ogutu, father to KTN anchor Linda Ogutu.

This comes just a few days after the protracted diplomatic tussle between Kenya and Uganda over the controversial Migingo Island resurfaced after Uganda police arrested an assistant chief early this week.

The arrest raised tension in the area with residents fleeing for fear of harassment.

Last week, the voter registration exercise in Migingo had to be temporarily halted after Ugandan authority arrested Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) staff for allegedly holding the exercise at the island without clearance from Ugandan government.

The row between Kenya and Uganda over the island first surfaced in 2008 after Kenyan fishermen were barred from fishing in the waters.

President Museveni then fueled the tension between the two governments further after he claimed that the water bordering the island is in Uganda while the land is in Kenya. He, however, later withdrew his statement following political pressure.

Then Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, however, sought to create an aura of calm in the country by reassuring Kenyans that Migingo is in Kenya, despite the fact that at the time, Ugandan security officers had set camp on the island.

A joint border survey committee was later formed to review the process and bring an end the stalemate though this did little to resolve the issue which has simmered since then.

Both Ugandan and Kenyan governments are yet to issue an official statement on the matter.