Lamu,KENYA:The Boni minority community in Basuba ward of Lamu county want the government to post more chiefs to their areas so as to allow for effective administration.
Basuba ward MCA Deko Barissa says despite having been upgraded to a division more than four years ago,the area still has only one chief making service delivery strenuous and challenging as the chief finds it hard to cover the vast area.
The Boni community is appealing to the national government to deploy more chiefs to all villages in the ward.
The MCA feels the situation is due to the fact that the community has been marginalized for decades especially in terms of service delivery.
There is not a single office of the chief in the entire Basuba ward.
The current chief is forced to undertake his duties from his home as a result.
“This entire ward has five villages and there is supposed to a chief atleast per each due to the vastness.The current chief has no office and has to work from his house.Its uncomfortable and shouldn’t happen in this country.The government ought to ensure the situation is normalized,”said Barissa.
Boni elders are also calling upon the national government to intensify security in their areas so as to enable for the opening of all the five schools in the ward that remain closed for over four years now.
The schools are Basuba, Milimani, Mararani, Mangai and Kiangwe primary schools.
“Our kids can’t go to school fand have been home for four years now.Dispensaries too have become history.We are still facing a hard time as a community.The government must better security so that schools and hospitals can open again here otherwise we continue to suffer,”said elder Ali Gubo.
Basuba ward is one of the most affected areas by terrorism caused by frequent Al shabaab attacks.
In 2015,the national government launched the Linda Boni operation which is meant to eliminate Al shabaab militants believed to be hiding inside the Boni forest and surrounding areas along the Lamu-Somalia border and restore order.
The operation is still underway.
