Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia has warned the Maa community against blocking major highways to express their dissatisfaction on any issue affecting society.
Lotiatia asked the residents to use legal paths or any other amicable manner to resolve their differences instead of interfering with critical infrastructure like roads that link people from different backgrounds to their destinations.
He spoke today at Sekenani Gate, at the Maasai Mara National Reserve where irate youth barricaded the highway protesting the court’s decision to hand over 4720 acres of Maasai Mara National Reserve to a brother of Narok Governor Livingstone Kunini Ntutu.
Similar demonstrations were witnessed at Talek trading center where residents burned tires along the road as a way of demanding their land back. Two people were injured in the mayhem.
Lotiatia, who was accompanied by members of the county security team, told the residents that though it was their right to oppose the ruling, they should use the legal means to make an appeal instead of barricading the busy highway.
The county commissioner assured tourists visiting the Maasai Mara National Reserve that the area is safe as there were enough security personnel deployed to calm the chaos witnessed.
This comes at a time when the county government of Narok has appealed the court’s decision in the Court of Appeal of Kenya.
The county’s attorney, Allan Meng’ati said they had studied the judgement and made a decision to make an appeal on the entire document.
“We respect the decision of the court but we do not agree with it; that is why we have appealed the judgement,” he said.
A senior advocate, Martin Kamwaro, said the community will exploit all legal paths to ensure the land is constitutionally and legally owned by the community.
The land under dispute is one of the prime areas of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, as it is deemed to be the breeding ground of lions and cheetahs.
By Ann Salaton and Mishmar Neymah
