Lamu residents welcomes border reopeningÂ
Following the announcement on Monday that the Kenya-Somalia border would reopen in 90 days, residents of settlements along the border in Lamu County are overjoyed.
For the past 12 years, there has been a ban on cross-border activity between the two nations.
It was put into place in 2011 when Kenya began Operation Linda Nchi to combat the invasion of al-Shabaab forces.
Following a high-level consultation conference on Monday in Nairobi, Mandera, Lamu, and Garissa’s borders with Somalia will be formally reopened in the next ninety days, according to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and his Somali counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Sheikh.
“We have decided to reopen the border between Kenya and Somalia in stages… In 30 days, Bula Hawa in Mandera will be the first to open. Ras Kamboni (Lamu) will follow in 90 days, followed by Liboi (Mandera) in 60 days, according to Prof. Kindiki.
When contacted by Nation.Africa on Tuesday, residents of the Lamu border villages Kiunga, Ishakani, Ras Kamboni, Madina, Kiwayu, and Mkokoni expressed happiness that their demands had finally been heard by the two administrations.
Fishermen and traders dominate Lamu’s border settlements.
Lamu residents welcomes border reopening
The 12-year border limitation has hampered enterprises and way of life, according to Mohamed Somo, the chair of the Lamu Fishermen Beach Management Units (BMUs) Network.
Fishermen and traders, Mr. Somo remarked, are no longer allowed to easily cross from Kenya into Somalia and vice versa as they go about their daily business.
“Unlike in the past, since the border was closed, we haven’t been able to travel to towns like Mogadishu, Kismayu, Puntland, and Hirshabelle in Somalia or engage in fishing activities in regions like Ishakani, Ras Kamboni, Sarira. However, I am convinced that the planned reopening would bring fishing back to its former splendor, added Mr. Somo.
The prohibition had a significant effect on the social lives of the border communities in Lamu, according to Mr. Omar Bunu from Kiunga.
For many years, Somalis from Kismayu and Mogadishu intermarried with Lamu locals in Kiunga, Ishakani, Ras Kamboni, and Sarira.