Kenya rules out war over Migingo

May 17, 2009

THE KENYAN government yesterday ruled out going to war with Uganda over the disputed Migingo Island on Lake Victoria. Foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula said the use of force is not an option.

THE KENYAN government yesterday ruled out going to war with Uganda over the disputed Migingo Island on Lake Victoria, reports Reuben Olita.

Foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula said the use of force was not in Kenya’s vocabulary, despite a motion some MPs tabled last week to use all means, including the mobilisation of armed forces, to protect the country’s borders.

Speaking during the burial of Ford Kenya founding member in Bungoma, Western Kenya, the minister said Kenya was committed to the East African Political Federation.

Although he hinted that Migingo belonged to Kenya, he warned politicians from Western Kenya against forcing President Kibaki to use military force.

“Should Kenya declare war on Uganda, the residents of Western Kenya will be the losers since the region will be used as a battle field,” he told mourners.

“We should take members agitating for war to neighbouring Somalia to see the effects of war as an option to solve disputes.”

The heated debate in the Kenyan House on Wednesday was sparked by a BBC report that quoted President Yoweri Museveni as saying that Migingo was in Kenya and the water in Uganda.

Since Ugandan Police officers are in charge of the island’s security, Kenyan MPs termed Uganda’s alleged occupation as an ‘aggression’. They also vilified Museveni over his remarks about the Luo.

Museveni has put the record straight. At a press conference attended by Kenyan journalists on Friday, he said he did not talk about Migingo in the BBC report.

He also clarified he was referring to the youth who uprooted the railway when he talked of mad Jaluo.

The dispute, he said, would be solved by the joint technical team which is currently surveying the boundaries.

He refused to apologise over his statements, saying Kenyans should apologise first for disrupting trade to Uganda and attacking Ugandans in last year’s post-election violence.

Residents of Migori town in Kenya on Saturday held a peaceful demonstration against Museveni over his remarks and his failure to apologise.

The placard-waving crowd demanded quick government action to end the border dispute and burnt President Museveni’s effigy in the streets.

They also presented a petition to the local administrator, asking Kibaki to show leadership in the wake of “verbal assault by the hostile neighbour”.

In Arusha, the East African Community secretariat expressed concerns over the Migingo dispute and urged the media to refrain from publishing “alarming” statements on the issue.

EAC secretary-general Juma Mwapachu said in a statement that continued “sensitive media reports” on the issue would only serve to undermine the work of the Joint Technical Survey Team.

Saturday Nation reported that the island masked a well-organised smuggling operation, under the patronage of some powerful Ugandans.

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