The Yala swamp community has called on Siaya governor James Orengo to hasten the release of the wetland’s land inventory and make it community land or risk rejection at the ballot next year.
According to the community, all that was blocking the national lands commission from registering the swamp as community land was the delay by the county government of Siaya to release the inventory letter.
Speaking at Musunguru grounds in Kadenge, the community members led by their chairman, Benard Ogeya Mugele, said the Community Lands Act of 2016 grants local communities the right to legally manage and protect their ancestral heritage.
Mugele said that attempts by the community to have the land registered has hit a snag, with the national lands commission insisting on the availability of the document for it to process a title deed.
“This is not a political request; it is a fundamental statutory right,” said Mugele, adding that they have already established land management structures and mobilized overseers.
Mugele said that the community has given Governor Orengo 14 days to release the document, failure to which they will storm his office.
His sentiments were supported by the residents, among them Mzee Joseph Obuong, who vowed to mobilise local residents to reject the governor at the ballot should he fail to ensure the land is registered under the community.
“If you fail to help us register the land, then forget votes from Kadenge,” warned Obuong.
A resident, Margaret Achieng declared that they will walk to the governor’s office in Siaya town and occupy it until he releases the document should the 14-day ultimatum expire without action.
The residents said they were pushing for registration of the wetland as community land so as to save it from illegal encroachment and irregular allocations that threaten their survival.
They said the wetland is the only resource capable of truly stimulating the local economy, making the title deed a matter of survival.
by Philip Onyango
