The Samburu County government has vowed to go to court over what it termed as border encroachment by its neighbours, Marsabit and Turkana counties.
Speaking to KNA, the Samburu Deputy Governor (DG), Julius Leseeto said that Samburu County has lost valuable land to Turkana and Marsabit Counties either through politics or discovery of resources.
The DG said that Lake Lokipi which has been in Samburu County has now been pushed to be within Turkana County after geothermal power was discovered in the small lake.
“According to the old provincial maps, Lake Lokipi has always been in Samburu County but after the discovery of geothermal power, modern maps now show that it is in Turkana County. As a county, we must fight this blatant encroachment,” he said.
Leseeto said that the map of Samburu County has been revised over the years to fit individual political and economic interests.
“A sad example is in Sarima area where the wind power passes. It has always been in Samburu County but due to political issues the area now is within Marsabit county borders,” said the deputy governor.
The DG said the county would bring on board the National Land Commission (NLC), Ministry of Lands, the Senate and IEBC to mediate on the border encroachment issue.
He further called on the Samburu County Lands’ Ministry to use the old provincial maps in the just installed Geographic Information System (GIS).
A Samburu elder, Simon Lorbat said that Sarima area has been used as a sacred site for the Samburu people for over 600 years and he was surprised when he heard it was now part of another county.
By Robert Githu
