Land named as the greatest threat to peace and security in Narok

Narok, Thursday, May 11, 2023

KNA by Ann Salaton

The Narok County Advocacy, Dialogue and Mediation (ADM) team has singled out land disputes as the main threat to peace and security in the county.

The group that consists of representatives from the inter-faith committee, peace committee, council of elders, Maendeleo ya Wanawake, National and county government members observed that issues of land were a thorn in the fresh in the county and a threat to a peaceful co-existence.

The group that was led by the Acting Narok Central Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Abdi Shakur Ali opted for an alternative land resolution formula so as to ease the burden of handling land cases in courts of law.

He observed that he spends most of his office time resolving land-related cases which could turn out to be very emotional.

“Land dispute issues are too common in this county. Sometimes they involve immediate family members who raise against each other because of a disputed land. We need to look for an amicable way to resolve these problems,” he said.

The Maasai Council of Elders Chief Executive Officer Mzee Simon Ole Nchoe also advocated for an outside court formula to resolve land issues so as to create peace in the society.

He observed that judgement delivered by a Court of Law could sometimes bring more hatred to members of the same family or clan and create ‘bad blood’ among relatives

However, he said, when a case is resolved by elders and religious leaders outside the court, the families in dispute are brought together and the case resolved in a manner that everyone is satisfied.

The Narok County Peace Committee Chairman Mzee Joseph Ole Kileu said the county remained peaceful even after the elections because of working together with all the politicians, religious leaders and government officials.

“In Narok, we said ‘No’ to any form of protest before and after the elections. We have remained peaceful even when some counties were recently holding demonstrations,” he said.

Patrick Kuseo, a County government representative, asked the community not to rush to court to resolve disputes but instead engage the local elders and religious leaders in dispute resolution.

The meeting held at the Narok North Youth Empowerment Hall was organized by the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims with an objective to promote national cohesion, peaceful coexistence and build trust in the electoral and democratic process.

Courtesy; K.N.A