Residents of Kambi Sheikh village in Isiolo County's Burat district are outraged after failing to bury their loved one due to an ongoing land dispute.
It is alleged that soldiers from the Kenya Defence Forces' School of Infantry (SOI) allegedly halted the burial of a 38-year-old woman, Amina Eipa.
The soldiers are claiming over 10,000 hectares of land between the Lewa and Isiolo rivers, displacing over 20,000 people, six primary schools, three secondary schools, and three dispensaries to expand their training base, a move that has been met with opposition from locals, who accuse the KDF of forcibly evicting them from their ancestral land.
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Locals who claim to have lived on the ground since 1922 report that the soldiers arrived in 1981 and were given 100 hectares by elders to set up their training camp. Following a 30-day eviction notice issued by the soldiers in September 2019, the locals went to court. They obtained an injunction, preventing the military officers from evicting the locals pending the case's outcome. Still, area residents claim that the soldiers continue to extend the boundary despite the court's directive.
On Thursday, Isiolo County Assembly Deputy Speaker David Lemantile, Leader of Majority Abdirashid Ali Diba, and Burat Ward MCA Nicholas Lorot visited the region and blasted soldiers' decision to prohibit villagers from burying their loved ones.
Elsa Ntirim, Kambi Sheikh, Ngisoro, Kabarnet, Leparua, Akadeli, Kakili, and Bulesdima are among the eight impacted communities with a total population of over 20,000 people.
According to Esekon Kirion, an elder from Kakili village, locals have suffered due to the conflict.
"The body of Eipa has been lying at the Isiolo Hospital Mortuary for a week now due to the dispute," the official stated.
He wondered what would happen to the other bodies that had already been buried on the disputed site.
