Cash-strapped Kenya suspends construction of border wall btn Somalia and Kenya

Geza Ulole

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Oct 31, 2009
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Work on Kenya-Somalia border wall suspended
FRIDAY MARCH 30 2018
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Gedo Governor Mohamed M. Mohamed from Somalia and Mandera Governor Ali Roba address the press on March 30, 2018. Both governors announced that the construction of a security fence along the border had been suspended to allow for talks. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
  • Two leaders said President Uhuru Kenyatta and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo will soon meet to agree on a few “thorny issues” before the project proceeds.
  • Kenya announced it would build a security wall to prevent Al-Shabaab militants from getting into the country, following the deadly April 2, 2015 attack at Garissa University College that left 148 people dead.

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By MANASE OTSIALO
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The much publicised security fence on the Kenya-Somalia border has temporarily stopped to allow further negations between the two states.

This was revealed on Friday by Mandera Governor Ali Roba and his Gedo counterpart Mohamed A. Mohamed from Somalia.

BORDER WALL

While on a meet-the-people tour in the border towns of Mandera and Bulahawa, they said the two countries have agreed to temporarily stop the project that would separate the two towns.

According to the two, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo will soon meet to agree on a few “thorny issues” before the project proceeds.

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Mandera Governor Ali Roba and Gedo Governor Mohamed M. Mohamed from Somalia on March 30, 2018. Both governors announced that the construction of a security fence along the border had been suspended to allow for talks. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP


Governor Roba said the decision was reached to quell the rising tension among people who live near the border.

“There is a lot of negative propaganda particularly on the Somalia side with respect to border security programme but we are here to confirm that all that is false,” said Mr Roba.

He said locals on the Somalia side of the border have been made to believe that the fence would lead to their eviction and the demolition of their houses.

TALKS

The Mandera governor said consultations have been ongoing for the past two-and-a-half years over the security programme initiated by the Kenyan government.

The construction has been slow since its inception in 2015 because the local community has to be involved at every stage.

“We are here as neighbouring governors to inform the public that the project has been halted so that a solution for the houses lying directly on the border can be found,” he said.

This, he said, was agreed on during a meeting last week attended by North Eastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Saleh in Mandera Town.

“I can confirm the contractor has been asked to demobilise temporarily pending engagement by the two national governments to discuss a solution in an amicable way,” he said.

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Security officers stand guard at the Kenya-Somalia border on March 30, 2018. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP


AGREE

Gedo Governor Mohamed said Presidents Kenyatta and Farmajo had already talked on the phone and agreed to meet soon.

“Our message here is that the construction stops until the two national governments come together to agree on some issues on the table,” he said.

According to Governor Mohamed, issues to be discussed include the reason for the project, its effects on daily activities and the fate of the homes that would be affected.

Mr Mohamed wants the Kenyan government to consider the social interaction of the communities along the border before separating them with a wall.

“The people living here have a long history of depending on one another and separating them needs negotiations to solve the problem,” he said.

Sixty-four homes have been marked for demolition along the border to allow the completion of the project, which is supervised by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) engineering department.

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A section of the completed fencing along the Kenya-Somalia border in Mandera on March 3, 2018. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP


SECURITY

Kenya announced it would build a security wall to prevent Al-Shabaab militants from getting into the country, following the deadly April 2, 2015 attack at Garissa University College that left 148 people dead. Most of those killed were students.

The project was later changed to a wire fencing with a parallel trench. Eight kilometres have been completed.

However, the residents on the Somalia side of the border opposed the project and demanded to be compensated for their houses that are in the no man’s land. They have been marked for demolition.

They also asked the Kenyan Government to accept those who have Kenyan ID cards to settle in Mandera.

Some demands that the Kenyan Government is reluctant to implement include allowing students from Somalia to learn freely in Mandera.

Residents on both sides of the border have said the fence would disrupt business, social interactions and movement of livestock when herders search for pasture.

Work on Kenya-Somalia border wall suspended

MY TAKE
BTW ni aibu kuita barb wire barrier a wall, Middle income muache utani aisee.
 
Construction has been suspended to allow for talks. Hujui kusoma? Eti cash strapped????? Kuna makazi ya watu ambayo yapo kwenye boda. Mgogoro ndio huo. Geza Ulole you are growing too old for this.
 
Cash strapped Tanzania suspends construction of the SGR after potential financiers shelve the project.
 
Hold on, Kenya hasn't build a brick WALL on their border with Somali, they've build a wire FENCE. Huge difference, fence can be breached easily unlike a brick wall.
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Hold your horses. The project is not yet complete. Do you know how many kilometres long that wall will be? Check the span of the Kenya-Somalia border on your map.
The issue here is the type of wall been build, it's not brick or concrete wall, it's a barb wire fence from start to finish. Pesa ya brick or concrete wall hakuna. Muulize Trump akupe price of brick or concrete wall, the wire fence doesn't guarantee security unless you've man patrolling the whole border line. Look how Spain France are struggling to control migrants crossing their huge tall wire fence.
 
Now WHAT is this dude? You must be serious guys. That barbed wire fence is normally used for agricultural purposes. E.g. ranches.
Ile KDF walkway katikati itabadiika kuwa shooting range ya al shaabab very soon as can only accommodate a KDF solder on foot or on a bicycle. To me it is a booby trap of sort for a soldier on patrol n I wish best of lucky for whoever to be stationed there.
 
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