ODM wants KDF deployed to Migingo Island to oversee voter registration

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) now wants the government to deploy Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers in Migingo to oversee voter registration exercise.

Addressing the press on Thursday, the legislators led by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi also asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to clarify whether the 1.5 acre piece of land is in Kenya or Uganda after the arrest of IEBC officials on Wednesday by Ugandan security forces.

The legislators gave President Uhuru Kenyatta 48 hours to address the matter, failure to which they would take unspecified action.

Wandayi called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to resume the registration of voters in Migingo Island to give the residents a chance to take part in the next election.

He accused Jubilee of scheming to sabotage the registration of voters in CORD strongholds to starve them off votes in the 2017 elections.

Meanwhile, IEBC Commissioner Thomas Letangule has stated that voter registration exercise in the island will not resume until the Kenyan and Ugandan governments have resolved the boundaries impasse.

Letangule stated that by launching voter registration process at the island, IEBC knew that Migingo belongs to Kenya noting that the latest development has left the commission in limbo.

The Kenya-Uganda boundary row over Migingo re-emerged on Wednesday with Ugandan police saying the registration process will only resume after the Kenyan government has sought and received permission from Uganda.

The row 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