Migori Governor Okoth Obado tells Museveni to keep off Migingo Island

Migori County Governor Okoth Obado has told President Yoweri Museveni to keep off Migingo Island and allow the voter registration exercise to go on.

Speaking during his State of the County address on Monday, Obado faulted the mishandling of Kenyan police and residents of Migingo by Ugandan authority saying it is a pointer to a ‘bad neighbourhood’.

He reiterated that Migingo Island is in Kenya and called on the national government to move with the speed to repossess the island.

“Residents of Migingo have not been living in peace because of harassment by Ugandan authority,” the Governor said.

He expressed concerns over the security of IEBC officials who are carrying out registration at the island noting that it was unfortunate for a neighbouring country to act in a manner that could trigger war.

The protracted diplomatic tussle between Kenya and Uganda over the controversial Migingo Island resurfaced a week ago after Uganda security forces arrested IEBC clerks and confiscated their Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits.

The incident followed the arrest of an assistant chief on Saturday, just a day after the resumption of voter registration exercise.

Migori Deputy County Commissioner in charge of Nyatike Sub-County, James Namtala, stated that he had spoken to the Ugandan authorities and reminded them that Migingo is a gazetted polling station in Kenya.

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

Uganda President Yoweri 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.

The 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 in 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 been simmering since then.

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

@benjaminwafula