A section of Rendille leaders have opposed plans to register community land by wards in Marsabit County, demanding that Laisamis Constituency be registered as one community land unit instead.
The position was issued during cultural celebrations in Logologo attended by political and community leaders from across Laisamis.
Five leaders presented a memorandum to the National Land Commission rejecting the proposed ward-based system. Among them were former Laisamis MP Musa Arbele and former Marsabit County Assembly Speaker Mathwe Loltome.
In the petition, the leaders want the Ministry of Lands to revoke the notice of intention to survey, demarcate and register community land by wards.
They argue that ward-based adjudication will trigger boundary disputes over shared grazing lands and water points, create room for land grabbing and privatization of communal resources, and lead to exclusion and landlessness for minority clans that move across wards.
The petitioners are instead pushing for an all-inclusive, culturally sensitive process involving councils of elders, professionals, women and youth with ancestral ownership of the land.
Laisamis MP Joseph Lekuton condemned the move to halt the process, saying land registration should not be politicized.
“Suspending the process at this stage would undermine the financial resources and efforts already invested in the exercise,” he said.
Lekuton accused some of the opposing leaders of failing to prioritize land registration when they held public office, and faulted them for submitting the memo without public consultation.
He said formal registration will foster harmonious coexistence and minimize disputes over pasture and boundaries, and assured that no land in the constituency would be taken away.
Marsabit County Land Registrar Samuel Gursha said land matters should not be politicized and urged leaders and residents to seek solutions through peace and dialogue.
Chairperson of the Community Land Management Committee in Logologo Lufle Gambare also condemned the petitions, saying stopping the process would delay rightful titling and undermine legal protection of indigenous and pastoralist land.
He urged political leaders to support the ongoing exercise instead of interfering with efforts aimed at a lasting solution.
Other leaders present included Rendille Professionals Chairman Abubakar Ketomon, County Assembly Majority Leader and Logologo MCA Bernard Leakono, Laisamis MCA Daniel Burcha, Karare MCA Joseph Leruk, Kargi MCA Christopher Ogom, and former Kargi MCA Asunta Galgidhele.
The leaders called for unity and consultation, stressing that land issues require community involvement to reach acceptable solutions.
The dispute highlights a key challenge in ASAL counties where pastoralist communities must balance administrative boundaries with traditional land use and mobility.
