Residents Flee Homes as hundreds of camels invade farms in Kitui

Kitui County residents living along the border with Tana River County are now fleeing from their homes following the influx of Somali herders in such of pasture.

The residents have expressed concerns on their security saying tension remains high in the area after the herders started arriving with their camels.

Areas affected include parts of Mwingi like Ukasi, Kalamba, Kandolongwe and Engamba in Mwingi central constituency and parts of Mutha in Kitui south constituency.

Image result for tana river vs kitui county pastoralists feud

Mwingi Central Member of Parliament Dr. Gideon Mulyungi toured the affected areas after parents withdrew their children from schools citing fear of attacks.

Already Engamba Primary school has disintegrated due to rising cases of insecurity in the area while the neighboring Kamuluyuni Primary school has only 57 pupils from class 1-8.

Mulyungi says the herders have established a residential camp in his constituency comprising of more than 1000 herders and their families where they are supplied with water by water boozers.

Image result for tana river vs kitui county pastoralists feud

The legislator has now called on the County and National Government to intervene saying the continued prescence of the herders in the area is a security concern.

He has further called for the deployment of security officers along the border to calm the situation saying more than 30 people have lost their lives after clashes between Somali herders and Kamba farmers in the last two years.

Image result for tana river vs kitui county pastoralists feud

Mulyungi claims they have established that most of the herders who have invaded his constituency originate from Wajir county and not Tana River County as earlier said.

Jacob Maundu, a former MCA said the herders have invaded his shamba with their camels and called on both levels of Government to come up with lasting measures to adress the situation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *