By Christopher Oduor
Land disputes have been rampant in Kisumu County, more especially in my community. Recently in Kamakowa-Obunga Railways ward, there have been ongoing disputes between members of the community and the Kisumu Muslim Association (KMA) over a field that has been serving the community as a recreational and sports training facility for decades. This continued tussle for land has been ongoing for years, with court cases and appeals at the center of it.
Obunga sports complex as the residents refer to it, is a field around Kamakowa junction and also neighboring the Kenya Breweries Limited, has been serving as the community’s main recreational facility, with footballing activities the main focus, while player development and life skills are the core responsibilities of the football academies. According to one resident who identified as Jaduong claimed to have personally benefited from the facility together with his siblings who were also born and bred in the area.
The Kenya Muslim Association recently filed a court case and, as a result, won the case regarding the field, which they claim to have formerly been their cemetery and thus is their own. On the other hand, the community that immediately appealed the court ruling, with the case still pending in court, has also, in their own right, claimed the land as a community piece.
The aftermath of all the court cases has resulted to the Muslim community taking harsh measures to stop any activity from taking place in the field, including security measures like gates. This has further angered members, leading to demos and restlessness in the society.
The closure of the sporting complex which is was acting as a training facility for more than two grassroot league playing teams and this has greatly affected the youth activities making a large number of youths clueless and idle as there is no other field, “we’ve played here since our childhood and now we have to abide by the court ruling but it’s tough on our side we’ve always known Obunga football complex as a community ground in my more than twenty years in this earth’’. Said Stanley Omondi, who is a community and a player of Obunga F.C, one of the affected teams.
The court cases are always dragging, making it difficult to resolve the disputes and hence worsening situations or maintaining the status quo. The community members and the Muslim community should all be given lasting solutions as it is clear they are both in need of the solution. Most community members want the field back as they feel no burials take place there anymore and that many young people who train there learn skills that take them off criminal activities.
For now, the residents of Kamakowa in Obunga have to wait for the court procedure to know the fate of their appeal, as the field they once called home and gave them so much is now on lockdown and only opened for religious activities.
