Migingo Island dispute not yet resolved
Apr 15, 2010
The two-year-old Migingo Island dispute between Kenya and Uganda is not yet resolved, according to James Mugume, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
By Josephine Maseruka
The two-year-old Migingo Island dispute between Kenya and Uganda is not yet resolved, according to James Mugume, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Kenya Standard newspaper, on Wednesday, ran a story claiming that Ugandan authorities had officially declared that Migingo is in Kenya.
The paper quoted Kenya’s foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula as having made the announcement.
Media reports further quoted John Donaldson, a research associate at the UK-based International Boundaries Research Unit, as saying Migingo Island is in Kenya.
Mugume yesterday told The New Vision that the reports were misleading because last week Ugandan authorities agreed with Kenya’s Premier Raila Odinga that the survey must be re-done.
“Kenya’s Premier was in Uganda last week and decided that the boundaries must be re-surveyed from River Sio to Ilemba Islands, all the way to the Pyramid islands.â€
Mugume added that Ugandan authorities are waiting for their counter-parts in Kenya to agree when the re-survey starts.
He added that it could have been a misquotation of the minister by the Kenyan media.
“There are many islands in Lake Victoria and often journalists misquote leaders when they talk of an island other than Migingo.
“This was the case when President Yoweri Museveni was misquoted when he was talking of another island not Migingo.â€
A dispute flared in February 2009 when Kenyans living on Migingo Island were required to purchase special permits from the Ugandan government, sparking a row between the two countries.
Ugandan authorities proposed that the matter be resolved by a survey, using the boundaries set by the Kenya Colony and Protectorate Order in 1926.
Kenya and Uganda later agreed to allow fishermen from both sides to continue conducting business until boundaries were determined by experts.
They also agreed that Uganda withdraws the 48 policemen it had deployed on the island.
President Museveni and Kenya’s leader Mwai Kibaki agreed to resolve the matter in the spirit of East African integration.
The two-year-old Migingo Island dispute between Kenya and Uganda is not yet resolved, according to James Mugume, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Kenya Standard newspaper, on Wednesday, ran a story claiming that Ugandan authorities had officially declared that Migingo is in Kenya.
The paper quoted Kenya’s foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula as having made the announcement.
Media reports further quoted John Donaldson, a research associate at the UK-based International Boundaries Research Unit, as saying Migingo Island is in Kenya.
Mugume yesterday told The New Vision that the reports were misleading because last week Ugandan authorities agreed with Kenya’s Premier Raila Odinga that the survey must be re-done.
“Kenya’s Premier was in Uganda last week and decided that the boundaries must be re-surveyed from River Sio to Ilemba Islands, all the way to the Pyramid islands.â€
Mugume added that Ugandan authorities are waiting for their counter-parts in Kenya to agree when the re-survey starts.
He added that it could have been a misquotation of the minister by the Kenyan media.
“There are many islands in Lake Victoria and often journalists misquote leaders when they talk of an island other than Migingo.
“This was the case when President Yoweri Museveni was misquoted when he was talking of another island not Migingo.â€
A dispute flared in February 2009 when Kenyans living on Migingo Island were required to purchase special permits from the Ugandan government, sparking a row between the two countries.
Ugandan authorities proposed that the matter be resolved by a survey, using the boundaries set by the Kenya Colony and Protectorate Order in 1926.
Kenya and Uganda later agreed to allow fishermen from both sides to continue conducting business until boundaries were determined by experts.
They also agreed that Uganda withdraws the 48 policemen it had deployed on the island.
President Museveni and Kenya’s leader Mwai Kibaki agreed to resolve the matter in the spirit of East African integration.