DISCONTENT AND TENSIONS ARE BUILDING UP BETWEEN THE ADMIISTRATION AND NYANZA RESIDENTS OVER THE NEW DISTRICTS.
Writes Leo Odera Omolo
The Provincial Administration in Nyanza Province is embroiled in a tricky situation to resolve the tension packed protests by the region’s resident over the newly, created new administrative districts.
The main cause of the looming troubles varies, but principally the main one is the scramble for the places where the new district headquarters would be established. And also the names of the new administration outposts as the inter-clan rivalries are said to be building up everywhere.
Early this tear, President Mwai Kibaki upgraded several parliamentary constituencies and granted those areas new district status. Among them were Uriri, Kuria East, Mbita, Ndhiwa, Gwassi, Ugenya, Nyakach, Kisumu West, Nyatike North Rachuonyo.
Kuria East was hived out of the original Kuria district, which has its administrative headquarters at Kihancha,and a market center called Igonga was gazette as the place where the new district headquarters would be established.
The new Kuria East district is the home of the two warring sub-clans, namely Buirege and Nyabansi. Igonga is a marketplace or a trading centre located on the side of the Nyabansi sub-clan. The opposite sub-clan could not accept their new district headquarters being established at Igonga. They took up arms and launched a full scale inter sub-clan skirmishes, which has so far claimed dozens of life.
The most intriguing question is the geographical reality. Each of the two sub-clan have their cousins living across the Kenya-Tanzania border. And each of these battle hardened two sub-clans summoned their cousins across the border to come and beef up support in the battle front. Those relatives who crossed the border from Tanzania came armed with modern weapons like guns and the area bled to the ground.
The local politicians who were suspected to have incited the two sub-clan to go into full scale war were nowhere to bring any help. Law and order, however, was restored a week ago after the government dispatched the crack anti riot police unit, the General Service Unit {GSU}.
The entire Kuria has only one member of Parliament, Dr. Walter Machage, who at one time was a full cabinet Minister in the Kibaki administration, but was surprisingly relegated to a junior position of an Assistant Minister in the same cabinet, a move which was to the chagrins of his constituents, mostly those in Kuria West, which his home region. But the demotion was celebrated in Kuria East, which is the bedrock of his political rivals. The MP went quiet for some time and only half-heartedly appeared to the scene after the government has already crushed the rebellion.
It is only in Rachuonyo district where the split of the district into two, namely Rachuonyo South and North seemed to be going on smoothly. The district had its original headquarters based at Koseloe Market, which stands right on the boundary between Karachuonyo and Kasipul-Kabondo, but which is technically in Konyango area of Kasipul-Kabondo. This will now require the new Rachuonyo North district to establish its new headquarters at Kendu-Bay, while the Rachunyo South remain housed in the old building at Kosele. Though there are few voices suggesting that it be moved to either Oyugis or Ringa, but those voices are in minority.
In Uriri, a new district, which was hived out of Rongo district, has some local leaders gone as far as moving to the High Court in Nairobi seeking for the court’s nullification of Uriri Centre as the new district headquarters. The tug-of-war is between the indigenous Jo-Kanyamkago and the consortium of immigrant communities, which include the Maragolis, Luhyas, Subas and Luo from many other bigger sub-clans stretching from Siaya ,Rachuoyo, Rarieda and Suba district. They all settled in Uriri, making the area a true cosmopolitan in the real sense of the word.
The born of contention is the name Uriri itself. The name originated from South Gem in Siaya district, where many immigrants from Gem crossed the Lake Victoria and came with the name and settled Uriri . But the indigenous Jo-Kanyamkago want that alien name to be scrap.
The area MP, Cyprian Ojuwang’Omolo appear to be not of much help. It is being alleged that he has sided himself with the immigrant communities, and support the idea of having the new district headquarters established at Uriri Centre. This is on the ground that there is already a government land, which is said to be ,measuring about 24 acres. This space is sufficient for the establishment of a district headquarters with all the departmental extensions which comes with it.
The Assistant Minister for Internal Security Hon Joshua Orwa Ojode, when told by this writer of the complaints of the indigenous Jo-Kanyamkago sub-clan, which is arguably the majority of the resident, replied casually, “Why did they accepted the constituency to be called Uriri in the first place?”
The indignant Jo-Kanyamkago want the headquarters to remain at the Rapogi Divisional headquarters, where there is a well established office, which was constructed by the local residents on Harambee basis about ten years ago, wirh a modern house, which used to accommodate the district Office. But Rapogi has no more free land space. The office in question is constructed inside a disused old quarry, on a piece of land which was donated by Ex-Councilor Owino Odeny, who is understood to be readily wiling to donate more land free of-charge, in collaboration with two other potential donors.
Sources privy to the goings have revealed that even the land on which the DO’s Office stands has its title deed kept by an individual, and not in the custody of the government. The surrounding villages crowding around Rapogi Market are RCM Mission, St Joseph Rapogi Secondary School, Rapogi Mixed Primary School and therefore making it difficult for the government to get more free land for extension of its offices and other facilities.
But arguably, Rapogi would be an ideal place for the new district headquarters because it is centrally situated and would cater for the residents adequately, unlike Uriri, which is very close to Migori Town. It is quiet inside the newly created Nyatike district. The area comprises only two major sub-clans of Jo-Kadem and jo-Karungu, with a few immigrant communities living among the two dominant sub-clans, which are inter-related or cousins, and the descendants of Onyango Rabala.
The residents of Nyatike are expected to agree unanimously for the new district headquarter to be established at Macalder, where there is plenty of land and ultra modern buildings, which were in 1962 abandoned by the owners of the former Macalder Gold and copper Mines ltd. The mine was closed in 1962 shortly before Kenya attained her political independence in 1962. This is the place where the current Nyatike Division is based. Other Divisions are Sori-Karungu and Muhuru-bay.
The government, especially the Provincial Administration in Nyanza, will have to cope up with the tension charged new Gwassi district and perhaps put in place new ideas on how to handle the tension which is rapidly building up between the Gwassi and Kaksingiri sub-clans. The two sub-clans of the Luo-Abasuba, though not inter-related, are locked in bitter argument whether the new district headquarters should be established at Magunga in Central Gwassi, where the Gwassi Division is housed or the headquarters should remained at its present site in Gingo ne Sindo Town.
Gingo was previously gazetted as the Suba district headquarters. There stands the offices of the County Council of Suba, an ultra modern hospital, other government building and nurses and doctor quarters. Before it was gazette, close to 5,000 families were evicted out of their ancestral land compensated with millions of shillings. under the land acquisition laws. All those whose land plots were acquired by the government were the Jo-Kakisingiri people. But within only ,a couple of years, this particular sub-clan is told that the new district has already been gazette to be established at Magunga. Physiologically one can understand their anger, which has raised the political temperature of the are to a boiling point of provoking war cries.
The MP for Gwassi Hon John Mbadi himself hails from Gwassi, and he is being accused by the Kakisngiri people of sabotaging the original plan where the new administrative headquarters should be established. This, they said, is after the leaders meeting held in Mbita town had resolved that Gingo remain the new district headquarters, and it is the new D.C who should move to Mbita Town.
Inmost cases, the present crops of Luo MPs stand accused of applying double standard by trying to please all sides of the grieved sub-clans for vote getting purposes, and not telling any iota of truth.
In Mbita district, the residents of the two major islands, Rusinga and Mfangano want the new Mbita district called Suba North ,while Gwassi district be called Suba South, and there is likely to be a big-tug-of war. The Mbita MP Gerald Otieno Kajwang’ is said to have rushed to Nairobi and had the new district gazette to the chagrins of the islanders. Kajwang’ is the Immigration and Registration of persons Minister in the grand coalition government.
Kajwang’ had good reasons to neutralize the islanders. This is because he narrowly escaped what could have been his first election defeat in 2007. It took the intervention of the Prime Minister Raila Odinga to prevail on Wakiaga , which according to reliable sources was full of coercion and threats.
Other theories which are making the round is that Raila is not comfortable with anybody who hails from Rusinga Island due to old grudge of political and ideological battle between his late father Jaramogi Odinga Odinga and the late Mr. Tom Mboya, though Wakiaga and Mboya are not related as such. But such rumors may have some elements of credibility due to Raila’s behaviors towards all those politician who had brushed soldiers with his late father.
He was prominently absent during the burial of the late Mzee W.L Oselu-Nyalick the former Winam MP and in two previous occasions an Assistant Minister in both Kenyatta and Moi’s regimes. Raila was also nowhere to be seen during the burial of the former Alego-Usonga MP, the late Luke Rarieya Obok, who at one time was the late Odinga’s aide and close political associate, but who had later deserted Raia’s father and took up a government job in the parastatal under Moi.
The late Mzee Nyalick worked closely with the late Mboya and were the instrumental tool which contributed to the sub-division of the old expansive Central Nyanza district into two, namely Kisumu and Siaya districts. The late Jaramogi had read a malice in the exercise, arguing it was meant to reduce his power of political influence, while Nyalick and Mboya argued that the sub-division was meant to bring the administration closer to the people.
And “Agwambo deliberately or technically absented himself from these two funerals, But he is known to have attended many other funerals of very insignificant men and women all over Luo-Nyanza mainly for political expediency. The Odinga’s are also known to be uneasy with any idea of sub-dividing the Luo-Nyanza into two administrative Provinces. Anybody advocating for creation of more administrative areas in Luo-Nyanza is simply dismissed as an agent of the Mt. Kenya politicians. They want Luos herded into one big basked for their maximum exploitation. But are not advancing any reasons to the public what benefit can the community accrue by remaining in one basket under the Odinga’s political yoke.
And these are some of the credible reasons why even those sharp, youthful, energetic and highlyenlightened Luos fear to speak their minds.
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
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Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 19:29:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: DISCONTENT AND TENSION IS LOOMING IN NYANZA OVER NEW DISTRICTS