MPs vote for military option in Migingo row

What you need to know:

  • Backbenchers press Kibaki to consider use of force to settle dispute over island

Hawkish backbenchers on Wednesday crushed the government in Parliament to pass a motion pressuring the President to take a more hard-line position in the dispute over Migingo Island in Lake Victoria.

The MPs defeated spirited efforts by the government to shelve a private member’s motion asking President Kibaki to deploy the military to resolve the dispute, should diplomatic efforts fail.

The motion also asked the President to refer the dispute to the UN Security Council if it appears to threaten peace and security in the region.

Emotive issue

The President and the government are not compelled by law or parliamentary tradition to implement private members’ motions. But on an emotive issue such as territorial integrity, such a vote puts pressure on President Kibaki to be seen to be taking a strong position.

In Uganda, government spokesman Fred Opolot described the motion as “a joke”, saying the dispute was a small issue that does not warrant military deployment.

Mr Opolot, who is the executive director of the Uganda Media Centre said: “We are not taking this (motion) seriously because these were just few MPs who take the advantage of absence of other MPs to pass this unfortunate motion.”

Officially, Kenya does not consider war with Uganda a viable option. The military commander General Jeremiah Kianga has described the dispute as an “issue for cartographers to determine”.

But the President has been forced to strike a more hard-line pose, at some point reiterating his confidence in the army’s ability to defend Kenyan territory, presumably not to appear weak in the face a more aggressive neighbour.

On Wednesday, MPs urged President Kibaki, as the Commander-in-Chief, “to use all resources at his disposal to reclaim Kenyan land”.

The government had made efforts to kill the motion on the floor of Parliament, because it could escalate what is essentially a small dispute.

A fortnight ago, the government side staged a walk-out to delay the vote. But on Wednesday, the backbenchers were better organised and defeated the government.

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda angered MPs when, in an interview with the BBC, he made a reference to “mad Jaluos” and appeared to concede that whereas the island might be in Kenya, the surrounding waters were in Uganda.

Cartographically, there is some evidence that the island is in Kenya and the dispute may have to do with the fact that Kenya, with only six per cent of the lake, appears to benefit more from fishing than Uganda which has 46 per cent.

Debate in the House on Wednesday was emotional, and at times acrimonious as MPs, clearly with their warrior blood up, asked President Kibaki to take charge of the country’s borders.

Raise numbers

Efforts by Foreign minister Moses Wetang’ula and his Information counterpart, Mr Samuel Poghisio, to oppose the motion, and even raise the numbers to force a division, failed.

The two opposed the motion and said the matter was being discussed between President Kibaki and President Yoweri Museveni and a joint border survey was under way to resolve the row.

An appeal to lawmakers by assistant minister Peter Munya that the motion was against the spirit of East African cooperation fell on deaf backbench ears.

The motion claimed Uganda had infringed on Kenya’s territorial integrity by occupying Migingo Island and Kacheliba in West Pokot, and sought to have the neighbouring state’s forces removed.

The motion also wanted Uganda to “unconditionally commit to respect Kenya’s borders”.

Uganda has since lowered its flag on Migingo and keeps policemen on the island by mutual agreement.

Mr Wetang’ula and Mr Poghisio dismissed claims that Ugandan soldiers had occupied Kacheliba.

“The basis of this motion is wrong and inaccurate since there are no Ugandan soldiers in Kacheliba,” Mr Poghisio, also the Kacheliba MP, said.

Mr Munya joined the two and said the motion was in “bad faith” since the issue was being resolved.

The vote comes barely a week after President Kibaki broke his silence and pledged military action to protect Kenya’s borders. However, the Head of State maintained that diplomacy would remain the first line of action.

The architect of Wednesday’s motion, Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale, was all smiles after the motion sailed through and he hugged his fellow backbenchers.

Mr Khalwale is well known for his populist performances on the floor, one of which forced the eventual resignation of former Finance minister Amos Kimunya.

A similar motion of no confidence against Agriculture minister William Ruto over the maize scandal however, failed.

Uganda and Kenya are trading partners. Uganda is the biggest importer of Kenya’s products whereas Kenya is a significant source for investment and a route for Ugandan imports and exports.

After the debate in Nairobi, Mr Opolot, speaking in Kampala, said Uganda was not bothered by the motion because “we know Kenyan leadership is committed to solving this matter diplomatically”.

The motion was voted on by only 47 MPs out of 220, Mr Opolot said: “The motion does not define general consensus of Kenya’s Parliament”.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Ugandan High Commissioner to Kenya, Brigadier Matayo Kyaligonza, on Wednesday described those calling for war over Migingo as “wajinga” (fools).

The retired soldier, who was speaking at a luncheon hosted for him in a Nairobi hotel, applauded Kenya’s role in peace-making in the region.

Also speaking at the function, Mr Wetang’ula said there was a need for Kenya and Uganda to “resolve their difficulties and challenges in a brotherly manner.’’

Brig Kyaligonza denied media reports that he had been recalled over the Migingo Island dispute.

He said his departure from Nairobi was normal, and his successor has already been named. The new High Commissioner will be Ms Angelina Wapakhabulo.

Additional reporting by Risdel Kasasira in Kampala and Henry Owuor in Nairobi.