Nyandarua, Laikipia border row simmers into another year

The fight over control of Nyahururu town has taken yet another dimension with the Nyandarua county government now planning to seek judicial mandate for a referendum to determine the location of the town.

Nyandarua county leaders now accuse their neighbour Laikipia of unfairly taking over the town which had been developed using funds from Nyandarua.

Investigations reveal that since the devolved governments came into power, the two counties have been involved in a protracted battle over the location of the industrial town.

Sources however say that before the last general election, the town was the headquarters of the larger Nyandarua district with government facilities such as courts, prisons and major installations based there.

Leaders from the two counties are now pushing for a national arbitration under the senate, constitutional reference in the Supreme Court and a local referendum on the boundary and infrastructure of the town.

Majority of the leaders are however in agreement that if the matter is left pending for long, it will continue to affect service delivery and long term institutional investments of the former Nyandarua district.

Nyandarua leaders have however termed the border row as historical, geographical and political. They claim the move by Laikipia county to claim ownership of the town while using institutions like law courts, hospitals and land office in Nanyuki was illogical.

Nyandarua leaders are now planning to have the matter debated in the county assembly in January 2015 and that the public will be given a chance to air their views.

Sources say the bone of contention is that the leaders from the two counties have openly differed over who between the two counties should be allowed to collect the Sh200m annual revenue from Thompson’s Falls situated as the heart of Nyahururu township. Former Ndaragua MP Jeremiah Kioni has petitioned the Senate to begin relocating Nyahururu town in Laikipia county to Nyandarua county.