Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
Kenyan fishermen operating on the twin islands of Migingo and Ugingo in Lake Victoria have reported sighting the Kenya a military helicopter flying low over the disputed island while its crew were seen taking aerial photographs.
Both the islands are subjected to a heated dispute between Kenya and Uganda. Ugingo Island is the latest area said to have been seized by Ugandan security personnel who are numbering about 20 are said to be busy supervising the construction of makeshift corrugated iron sheets temporary structures being put up by Ugandan traders.
The Uganda security personnel have expelled the Kenyan fishermen and told them to keep off the island.
A Kenyan fisherman confirmed having seen the Kenya army helicopter circling the island on Tuesday during early morning hours. Said he saw the copter which was flying low over the one and half acre island while its military crew were taking photo of the ground.
But the Copter did not land.
Odhiambo’s testimony was corroborated by several witnesses including the chairman of Migingo Beach Management Unit, Mr Juma Ombori who told this writer by phone that he had also seen the same Helicopter circling the controversial and nearby Migingo Island.
The new development came in the wake of plan envisaged by local politicians in Homa-Bay and Nyatike ,Gwassi and Mbita districts to invade the islands and eject the Ugandan policemen guarding them.
The invasion plans were announced last week by the former chairman of the defunct County Council of South Nyanza Elisha Aketch Chieng’who made the announcement in Homa-Bay Town.
Chieng’; said the residents were tired of the government failure to sort out the issue with its Ugandan counterpart
“We hope the Kenya government will soon reclaim the two islands from the Ugandans. We hope this trip by military helicopter was meant to show the country’s seriousness to protect its territories,” said Juma Ombori.
He said that Ugandan have already constructed 30 structures on the tiny island and were in the process of building more additional facilities with building material being ferried to the island from Bugiri district in Eastern Uganda.
On Wednesday night the Prime Minister Raila Odinga told hashed Parliament in Nairobithat the government that Kenya’s military has been ordered to crack down on Merille and Rendille tribesmen from Ethiopia who have been attacking Kenyan communities living along the common border.
The government, he disclosed, has also given quit notice to the Ethiopian government in Addis Ababa to relocate the Merilles and Rendilles voluntarily or the face forceful eviction by the Kenyan security agencies.
The Merilles, said Raila, are responsible for the recent killing of more than 40 people during an attack two weeks ago.
The PM told parliament that Merilles have already been told to move out of Kenyan territory through a notice.” If they do not leave they will be evicted forcefully,” he added.
Odinga further disclosed to the tentative House tat an estimated 900 of the total population of Merilles who have pushed out the Turkana and other communities from the area near Lake Turkana are armed militiamen the rest were farmers farming on Kenyan soil.
These foreigners are now living 17 kilometers inside the Kenya border. He also attributed the invasion of the Ethiopian Merilles and their continued stay in the area they have been occupying to a collapse of security at the Kenya borders. He absolved the Kenya Police; the General Service Unit {GSU} from the blames, adding that it is the cardinal duty of the military to protect the country’s territories from external aggressors.
“We spent millions of shillings on our military training. We train, promote and retire our soldiers who never go to any war, said the Pm during his weekly address to Parliament.
He assured the MPs that serious measures have been put in place. These include the upgrading of Todonyang’ police post to a fully fledged police station with more personnel to man it.
He disclosed that the government of Kenya had also taken other measures to protect the co8untry’s borders. The plans include the deployment of the military and police to Migingo and Ugingo islands where the Kenyan fishermen are at the mercy of Ugandan security personnel which have seized the islands and established control.
He said the military had already dispatched a plane to the island for surveillance purposes and had established that no Ugandan national flag was hoisted there as has been alleged by some of the residents and fishermen from the area.
The MPs severely criticized the government for being “too soft to the neighboring countries violating Kenya sovereignty and being too slow in securing the country’s territories being frequently seized by its aggressive neighbors with expansionist tendencies.
“This is a shocking admission of the government failure on a section of it citizenry.”How much money does the government need to set aside for the plans to improve security of its people,” wondered Imenti Central Mp Gitobu Imanyara.
Mandera East MNP Mohammed Hussein said the idle Kenya military should be put on use to scare away external aggressors targeting the country’s borders.
Ends