Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS)- Monica Juma, on Thursday revealed that the government was in the process of implementing a new directive aimed at solving the Migingo Island dispute.
A fresh demarcation of the boundary between Kenya and Uganda was announced by the CS, who affirmed that the new move was as a result of the recent meeting between President Museveni and Uhuru.
“It is a technical process, to mark the boundary. Does it mean we are going to begin renegotiating boundaries? No. That is not what it means. Our commitment is to respect the boundaries inherited at independence," she asserted.
CS Juma went on to state that the two governments were looking to clarify border points so as to finally solve the Migingo dispute.
“What we are talking about is really to re-clarify the boundaries so that people don’t claim what is theirs when it is not theirs either by omission or commission,” she disclosed.
The tiny 1.5-acre fish-rich island has been the subject of constant debate and conflict for the past 15 years.
"The memorandum of understanding signed between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Uganda’s Museveni will seek to clarify the border, create more border points for legal crossings as well as provide guidelines on sharing resources that straddle the borde," the Foreign Affairs CS revealed.
In a controversial twist, Bungoma Senator- Moses Wetangula has come out and stated that a similar border demarcation exercise had already been done before in 2011 at a cost of Ksh400 million.
"CS Monica Juma says Kenya/Uganda to demarcate border to resolve the Migingo issue. This was in fact done in 2010/2011. It cost the taxpayer over ksh 400 000 000. What is the purpose of the new demarcation? Check records and resist our neighbour's mind games." Wetangula tweeted.
