Unknown hectares of grazing land have been torched, the latest of the long running row between Somali herders and residents of Ganze, Kilifi county.
The torching happened in Mitangani village of Bamba.
According to eye witnesses who spoke to Baraka FM tensions escalated on Friday after a meeting called between the two warring parties to discuss a solution failed to reach into an amicable agreement.
“They gave a proposal to the assistant chief to graze in the area and they did not wait for us to approve, they arrived with their livestock and started grazing”Chengo Kadenge one of the residents told Baraka FM.
The chief then called a meeting with where an amicable solution was not met which resulted in residents burning down the land in a bid to forcefully drive away the herders.
Locals have accused the local administration of fuelling the conflict by bringing the herders without consulting them.
The row which has been running for the past two years has seen the local community accuse the herders of allowing their livestock to graze in their farms hence destroying their anticipated harvests.
In August last year,two brothers were injured in an attack which was blamed on the Somali herders.
According to one of the victims, Jumwa Mwabogo, he had approached the herders who were grazing their livestock on his farm when they attacked him.
However this is not the first time residents have torched grazing land in a bid to chase away the herders.
So far 100 acres have been torched in the long running dispute.
