Individuals and private entities have been urged to make arrangements to vacate land belonging to the national government before the law catches up with them.
While addressing the matter during a visit to Migori airstrip at Lichota, Principal Secretary for Interior and National Administration Dr Raymond Omollo, said that land grabbing remains one of the greatest obstacles to the National Government in accomplishment of its mandates.
There are long standing cases of private individual encroaching parts of this government land and we are requesting the said individuals to quietly vacate the encroached lands, Raymond Omollo, Principal Secretary for the Interior and National Administration.
He stressed that there’s a need to let the government easily access its premises and use them to dispense their services to the people.
While referring to Lichota Airstrip, the PS said that the government needs to use the land for the development aimed at benefiting the people of Migori economically.
“As the government of Kenya, we need this land to be used by the government for the benefit of the people of Migori,” he said.
Land grabbers called out
Omollo said that the list of land grabbers do not only stop at particular individuals but extends to companies, government agencies and private entities.
He said that there is a need for collaboration within the county and National government to push out the land cartels limiting development.
He said that already, there are known names some of which are prominent people at the national and county government saying that they will not give a listening ear when time for action comes.
Omollo was accompanied by Principal Secretary for state Department of Transport, Mohammed Dhagar who hinted at the possibility of expansion of the airstrip runway to accommodate more passenger aircrafts.
Call for cease-fire
The Interior PS also called on the neighbouring communities to embrace peaceful coexistence as a way of upholding the national virtues enshrined in Kenya’s national anthem.
He warned that as a department concerned with law and order in the country, they will make sure that an individual remains accountable to his wrong deeds.
We are clear that we will not entertain people taking the law into their own hands or messing up with the state of security in Kenya,” Raymond Omollo
He acknowledged the constant engagement between the national security team and the local administration to ensure that instant information is shared and relevant action taken without delay.
The PS however, called on the citizens to make work easier for the responsible law enforcement teams to do their work without any obstacle in matters of peace keeping.
“In the same regard, I wish to call on the individuals to allow the responsible agencies for law and order to discharge their responsibilities without any pull and push,” he said.
Omollo’s call for collaboration between the locals and the government in peace maintenance comes amidst clashes between the locals at the Kuria- Narok border.
IAN BYRON