Leaders oppose planned relocation of county offices

By CHARLES NGENO

Plans by Narok Governor Samwuel Tunai to relocate Narok town to Holding Grounds at Limanet have been resisted by a section of Maasai elders and legislature Moitalel ole Kenta.

Led by the National Coordinator of Maasai Council of Elders Hassan ole Kamwaro and former Narok North MP Moses ole Marima, the elders said they are opposed to the plan because the county government has not consulted them yet the 600-acre piece of land earmarked for the project is owned by the community.

“We shall not accept any transfer of our land to the county government without proper consultation. We are saddened that the governor wants to acquire our land without our consent and we totally refuse this,” said Mr Kamwaro.

They claimed to have only read the planned relocation in the papers and told the governor to consult before rolling out the plan.

“The county government has no constitutional mandate to interfere with community land. Any attempt will therefore be fraudulent, illegal and will be totally resisted,” said Kamwaro.

Mr Marima said the project would only kick off once the community’s approval has been sought and gotten. “The people of Narok will not accept any attempt to transfer land grabbing techniques to their area. It is only them who have the sole mandate to decide what use their land will be put into. We shall not allow anyone to tread on us,” said Marima

On his part, Mr Kenta said he has written to the World Bank to be made aware of the constitutional issues raised and the stand of the community.

“It is imperative that the World Bank, having been mentioned as a benefactor in this grand construction, confirms this position. It is crucial that the people of Narok County are enlightened about this partnership,” said Kenta.

He called on Mr Tunai to first rehabilitate the dilapidated infrastructure within Narok town before spending the limited development resources on ‘unhelpful feasibility studies and premature planning activities.’

“The governor should first improve existing health and educational facilities, build human resource capacity and provide clean water and provide basic needs to the county residents,” said Kenta.

The county government plans to relocate Narok town and begin construction of multi-billion shillings infrastructure including county offices.