Masalani leaders accuse Tana River residents of tress pass

A land row is brewing between residents of Masalani town in the Ijara sub-county, Garissa county, and those from Hola in Tana River.

The latter is said to have dug ditches in Tawakal farm, a few kilometres from Masalani town.

The community land that starts right after Shurie Girls secondary school in Masalani town extends to the banks of River Tana and has a beneficiary of over 1,000 farmers.

Initially, the farm used to be active since the residents who were majorly relying on rain-fed agriculture used to do subsistence farming.

Things however changed with the prolonged drought occasioned by the change in climatic conditions.

On Sunday, residents of Masalani were woken up to ditches dug right in the middle of the farm and stretching up to the river bank.

Jamal Mohamed Ali one of the farmers said that he woke one day only to find a ditch dug in passing through his farm.

“It is unfortunate that our neighbours from Tana River are hell-bent on provoking us to start conflict which we're not ready to. We want peace. let us respect the boundaries that exist,” he said.

The local leadership led by ODM-nominated MP Umulkheir Harun and Masalani MCA Yunis Abdi who visited the farm pointed an accusing finger at Tana River for being behind the activities.

Speaking to the press Umulkheir wondered why individuals would go ahead and carry out activities on a land they know does not belong to them.

The ODM nominated MP said that the residents of Maslanai and those from Hola in Tana River have peacefully co-existed for a long time saying that matters of land are very sensitive and should be handled with caution.

“We are currently in Tawakal farm, and as you can see, some work has been done here where they dug a ditch probably wanting to lay water pipes. And all this life we have known that this land belongs to the Masalani people. Now in all honestly if this is not provoking our people what is it."

Umulkheir pointed an accusing finger at Tana River Governor Dhadho Godhana saying that he was the one behind the issue saying that his actions would escalate tension between the neighbouring communities which would then result in clashes.

The leaders did not rule out engaging the National Land Commission and the courts if the matter is not resolved amicably.

“We all know that land is a very sensitive issue. Governor Dhadho kindly does not bring conflicts among these people who co-exist peacefully. Stick to your side and we will stick to our side. We don’t want a situation where people who have peacefully co-existed turn against each other."

Area MCA Yunis Abdi said that the residents from the two neighboring counties have co-existed for a long period calling on politicians not to cause division.

“All the people here in Masalani know what belongs to them, we will not cross to Tana River to claim what is not ours. whether the land is being utilized or not is our problem. It is not you to decide or to put us in a rush on when we will use it,” he said.

Speaking on the phone, a senior Tana River county official while acknowledging the simmering tension between the two communities was quick to state that the matter was being handled by the relevant agencies.

“As a county, we don’t want problems with our neighbours from Garissa whom we have peacefully co-existed with for decades. Regarding that matter, we have engaged the NLC and surveyors will guide us on the same,” said the official.