President not keen to solve Migingo issue, Odinga tells Budalangi residents

President not keen to solve Migingo issue, Odinga tells Budalangi residents

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has hit out at President Uhuru Kenyatta over his apparent laxity to resolve the Migingo Island ownership issue between Kenya and Uganda.

Addressing a rally at Lunyofu Stadium in Budalang’i, Odinga claimed that President Kenyatta has interacted severally with Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni but failed to seek a solution to the standoff that has seen Kenyan fishermen face harassment from Ugandan police.

“President Uhuru has not shown any commitment to solve the issue yet he has had numerous opportunities to raise the issue during their interaction,” he said.

“It is time we had serious talk with Uganda over the ownership of Migingo because it belongs go Kenya.”

He further stated that Kenyan fishermen deserve protection from harassment by Ugandan police who have reportedly pitched camp in the island.

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.

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