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{
"id": 1395439,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1395439/?format=api",
"text_counter": 295,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Maanzo",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13589,
"legal_name": "Maanzo Daniel Kitonga",
"slug": "maanzo-daniel-kitonga"
},
"content": "complained without justification that, in fact, they wanted to pay levies to Taita Taveta County, yet they are in Makueni County. When it went to Mombasa courts, the court stated that it had no jurisdiction to deal with the matter and referred the matter to the National Land Commission (NLC). The NLC was unable to deal with the matter for lack of jurisdiction and was sent back to the courts. The court then decided to deal with the matter of the levies alone. When it dealt with that particular matter alone, it was unable to proceed since there is no Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) where the right jurisdiction falls. So, the courts and NLC have no jurisdiction. It is only the IEBC who have jurisdiction. Recently, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration was in Makueni, particularly Kambu, to deal with the new district, which touches Mtito Andei, and that border. He set up a Committee of the two county commissioners and the administrators therein, to sit in the next two weeks from that time to arbitrate this particular matter. This we now have one week to go for them to come up with the actual borders between Makueni County and Taita Taveta County. However, the truth of the matter is that the border dispute between Makueni and Taita Taveta counties is a nullity. There is no border dispute. The chief of Mtito Andei reports to the County Commissioner, Makueni County. The Officer Commanding Station (OCS) of Mtito Andei reports to the Commander of Makueni County. The elected Member of County Assembly (MCA) of Mtito Andei Ward is of Makueni County and he sits in the Makueni County Assembly. All the polling stations vote at Makueni County, at no point have they ever voted at a Taita Taveta County. However, the Senator of Taita Taveta County and I are very keen on this particular matter. We do not want these very friendly counties to go into any dispute at all in a matter which does not exist in the first place. We want harmony because, as I have said, most of the people have moved from Makueni to Taita Taveta County and people have moved from Taita Taveta County and trade in Mtito Andei, knowing very well that they are trading in Makueni. Therefore, it is just three people who brought this matter and by their own volition, wanted to pay levies to another county but not Makueni County. Therefore, I would like to state clearly that the particular dispute is really a nullity. We just want this team which has been set up recently, to come up with an answer as quickly as possible. That will be reported to have settled the matter in court. In fact, that particular matter in court, which has hearing dates, we have gotten one of the best lawyers in the eastern region, Senior Counsel Eric Mutua, who was one time the Chairperson of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), to deal with the matter and is dealing with it competently. However, should this Bill pass before all those are concluded, then we will go by the boundaries put in this Act of Parliament. I believe that will settle the matter once and for all, so that our people can live in harmony. We are keen on the two counties co-existing peacefully. No one should come to Mtindo Andei in Makueni and claim that it belongs to another county. People have tried to politicize this. They come up with fake newspaper pullouts that the court has already determined. These are people who want to cause trouble The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}