Military rules out Migingo war

The territorial dispute between Kenya and Uganda over a little island in Lake Victoria is an issue for map makers to iron out and not grounds for war, Chief of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga has said.

Speaking at the first ever press conference called by the military and which covered a wide range of defence issues, Gen Kianga dismissed the Migingo island dispute as a “non-issue” and a “minor misunderstanding” to be resolved peacefully.

“This is a non-issue as far as Defence is concerned. It’s a minor misunderstanding that can be settled quietly,” said Gen Kianga. “These are issues for cartographers (map makers).”

Hoisted their flag

Ugandan soldiers have dramatically landed on the island — which is surrounded by rich fishing waters — hoisted their flag and are requiring immigration documents from Kenyans visiting it, provoking MPs to call for a military response.

Thursday’s press conference represented a significant step for the normally secretive military and was a response to the negative publicity it has received with regard to its conduct of operations in Mt Elgon where it was accused of torturing and unlawfully executing villagers.

On terrorism, Gen Kianga said no Kenyan soldiers have crossed the border as claimed by al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked radical Somali militia. “The Kenya government has no intention of conducting activities in Somalia and we have no instructions against al Shabaab,” the CGS said.

Gen Kianga said that the manner in which Kenya handles the Migingo dispute will determine how it is viewed in the family of nations and in the region. “It’s for Kenya to decide where we should be ... that we will react in a sober manner and through peaceful methods. That’s what has happened,” he said.

He was speaking on Thursday at the Department of Defence headquarters in the first-ever scheduled Press conference between a Chief of General Staff and journalists. Vice CGS, Lt. Gen. Julius Karangi, and the Director of Military Intelligence, Brig Philip Kameru, attended the news conference.

Gen Kianga said that the extension of service for the CGS and the Vice CGS was the prerogative of the President as laid out in law and not the Armed Forces Standing Orders. He was referring to force regulations which require officers to retire after serving in the same rank for a certain period. Gen Kianga has served his four years and his term has been extended.

On the long-standing issue of a warship ordered for the Kenyan Navy but enmeshed in the Anglo Leasing Affair, Gen Kianga said that a committee of experts was considering the matter.

“They are in the final stages of discussions with the supplier and then we will determine — based on the cost — whether it will come or be disposed of,” he said.

The military chief also revealed that the Steyr trucks which have raised controversy had been subjected to fresh scrutiny following safety concerns and frequent accidents, some fatal.

On the military operation in Mt Elgon launched to stop the Sabaot Land Defence Force, Gen Kianga denied yet again that the military tortured residents. He said that the military wished to investigate torture claims but no victim had produced evidence.