Uganda to Petition Parliament over Migingo
By Jacobs Odongo
KAMPALA,Uganda- Nusuru Tiperu, one of the Members Parliament representing Uganda in the East African Legislative Assembly says they will re-petition the East African parliament over the Migingo Island ownership dispute between Uganda and Kenya.
The second sitting of the parliament will sit in Burundi later this month to discuss issues concerning the East African Community, one of them being the Migingo row, which has had a negative impact on goods entering Uganda as Kenyan youth had blocked and destroyed parts of the railway line linking Uganda to Kenya.
“As MP’s from Uganda, we shall repetition the speaker of parliament over the unresolved problem of Migingo Island,” Tiperu said. “Some of the Kenyan leaders are to blame for this fracas as they have been uttering inflammatory statements against Ugandans.”
Tiperu however, commends Ugandan political leaders for staying cool despite the riots by the Kenyan Youth over the Island.
The leader of Opposition in Ugandan Parliament Professor Morris Ogenga Latigo has asked both countries to solve the dispute amicably without causing any bad blood between Ugandan and Kenyan fishermen, who transact business on the island.
Migingo Island, the tiny piece of land causing a big problem between good neigbours . Picture through courtesy
|
“There’s no need for us to fight over a 15-acre land,” he said. “This is a small matter, which both countries can solve without going to war.”
Uganda’s Government Spokesman Fred Opolot, said negotiations between Uganda and Kenya over the solution to the dispute are ongoing.
“We have instituted a geographical survey led by a team of experts from Uganda and Kenya to do a demarcating survey,” he said. “We want to know geographically where the island belongs.”
Opolot, who was in Nairobi to hold diplomatic talks with Kenyan officials said Uganda will use Sh.3.5 billion to pay for the surveyors and the technical team.
President Yoweri Museveni, who was in Burundi last week, directed Uganda’s representatives on the island to lower the country’s flag at the island because it had caused incitement among the Kenyan youth.
Museveni blamed the Mijingo Island dispute on the colonial governments, which divided the borders.
“I will have to visit the colonial books and see how these boundaries were done,” he said. “But in the mean time, let’s wait for a report from surveyors. We shall respect its outcomes.”
Click here for Ajabu Photos
Other Top Ajabu News
|
