Petitioners File Western Kenya Secession Bid in Court
Two petitioners have filed a petition at the High Court seeking to have Western Kenya region declared autonomous.
Mathew Okwanda Mwilitsa and Mr Alex Misigo Matisa filed the petition at the constitutional division of the High Court, asking it to let the people of former Eastern Province of Uganda under the colonial rule to chart their political destiny in a referendum.
“The petitioners are personally and on behalf of their community urging the honourable court to be pleased to grant the people occupying the territory formerly known as the Eastern Province of Uganda leave to hold a referendum so as to exercise their right to determination in terms of their rights to nationality, territorial integrity, economic, social and culture as a people,” the petition states.
The two sued the governments of Uganda, Kenya and Britain for abolishing the once united Abaluhya kingdom. Mwilitsa hails from Kakamega County while Mr Matisa lives in Vihiga County.
“The inhabitants of the former Eastern Province of Uganda were between the years 1895 – 1962 a distinct, cohesive, homogeneous and a united community under the able leadership of their King Nabongo Mumia, whose territorial jurisdiction spread from Jinja in present-day Uganda to Kijabe with the boundary being at Susua in the then British East Africa Protectorate (now Kenya),” the petition further states.
The petitioners allege that the colonial government refused to listen to demands by the Abaluhya community to have their own kingdom during the Lancaster House Talks in the United Kingdom that culminated to Kenya’s Independence in 1963.
They argue that Luhya community was part of Uganda and their territory was given to the then British East African Protectorate, now Kenya, against their wish.
“The official representatives of the dominant group occupying the Eastern Province of Uganda being the entire Abaluhya Community comprising the Wanga Kingdom voiced their concern in writing of their planned merger,” Mr Mwilitsa states in an affidavit.
He further claims merger was a plot to destroy their cultural and social fabric, which was well knit under the leadership of the able king of the Abaluhya.
“The merger of the former Eastern Province of Uganda with the British East Africa Protectorate was illegal, and the same violated the United Nations Charter and the United Nations Governing Assembly Resolution No. 1514 (XV) of 14 th December, 1960."
“The Government of the United Kingdom by design failed to resolve the Abaluhya Question when it was in a position to do so before granting independence to the British East Africa Protectorate; and therefore liable to pay reparations for the anguish and sorrow suffered by the said community to date,” the petition states.
They further submitted that after independence, Luhyas suffered severe discrimination, and victimisation in job allocation and general development funding.
“The community has similarly been marginalised economically, socially, culturally and politically and in the end the community has been given a derogatory tag as being ‘professional cooks and watchmen’”.
The two want the court to compel the Government of the United Kingdom to pay reparations to the Abaluhyia Community for randomly and arbitrarily putting them Kenya, and giving a deaf ear to their demands before granting independence to the former East Africa Protectorate, now Kenya.
They also want the court to rule that the inhabitants of the former Eastern Province of Uganda are at will to make free choices of their territorial integrity without external force or intimidation and that Article 15 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the right to citizenship, self-determination and territorial integrity applies to their petition.
Comments
Keep dreaming.
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Keep dreaming.
There is no need to secede. …
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There is no need to secede. What we should do is to demand that our greedy Kikuyu and their cousins Kalenjin brothers and sisters abstain from power for the next half a century. So far, they have been in power for more than 53 years!!!!!!
Why can't we learn from our neighbors from Tanzania. Tanzania is composed of over 250 distinct micro nations. Yet, no community has ruled more than one term. There have been leaders from the Mohammedan (Islam) and Yeshuan - Jesus (christian) groups. Currently, they have a Yeshuan president and a Mohammedan vice president. This is called political maturity.
All i know is that there is…
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In reply to There is no need to secede. … by Imara (not verified)
All i know is that there is no tribe called Kamau,Mwai or Muigai.They belong to the Gikuyu tribe.The same happens to Moi who is a Tugen but Tugen tribe is not Moi.The problem with opposition is that they are AKILI DOGO na BONGO LALA tupu.Who told them that only muuaji Raila can win from their side.I even voted for that devil against muuaji Moi but never again because huyu jamaa ni wa kura damu na nyama za binadamu,mla watu.Why can't you try another person like Prof.Maghoha or Matiang?
Democracy is about the will…
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Democracy is about the will of the people and application of the constitution. When you start viewing yourself as this or that that's where we start to err. Always comparing with a neighbor will make you resentful. Your neighbors have their own problems which they may not be washing in public. If the constitution had been changed to have rotating presidency that's fine. Remember leadership is not only the prez, there are vps, cabinet, civil service etc
Do these tribalists know…
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Do these tribalists know that a quarter of Jaluos and Luhyas living in Kawangware and Kangemi are married to Gikuyu women?Do they know that many of their misleaders led by Orengo,Babu,expired Juma,Wetangula etc are married to Gikuyu?Waceke,the lady who batters Wetangula on daily basis is a Gikuyu.Wetangula analalaga at different police stations in Nairobi.Kwake ni Vietnam.Hiyo jina kabila yangu itaisa tu hivi kalimbuni.
If the elections are not…
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If the elections are not free and fair this is going to be a viable option as we are tired of the same only it not be just the Luhya wanting to secede
Aaaaaaaah let's divide it…
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Aaaaaaaah let's divide it.Kibera n mathare will b very clean once everybody who lives there from the lakes go back to their nyanza Kenya.Watuachie Nairobi yetu n they should not b even one of them working in Nairobi.Actually I support it.In central n rift we have good farms where we grow flowers,wheat,maize n all sort of food.In kiambu we harvest more fish than kisumu on manmade ponds n yet kisumu wako na lake.This r good news.Ondingaism will b leaders of nyanza/western leadership.We will b like palestines n Israel gonna b hard kuingia the real central rift Kenya to look for jobs.I like this thing n I hope our mpigs can push for this???
I pray they get allowed to…
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I pray they get allowed to secede and join Uganda. That way they will become subjects of Museveni. And you know, with Museveni, no nyoko nyoko.
Hawa ngombe have time and…
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Hawa ngombe have time and money to waste. Do the math from Kijabe all the way to Uganda. How can such referendum to secede pass? Count half of Kiambu, Naivasha, Nakuru, Nyandarua, Some parts of Rift Valley. They should go and get a refund from they geography teachers. Pia Mu7 will enjoy being their commander in chief and president for life.
The territory formally known…
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The territory formally known as the Eastern province of Uganda was well known for cannibalism and high degree molestation of chicken by it's inhabitants. The colonial masters of the territory, the British Empire once conducted an investigation(around 1956) which found that three quarters of chickens between Kitale and Migori had been sexually molested leading them to enact a sodomy law is that defined sexual acts with chickens as crime. The law also deemed such sexual acts to be "unnatural" or immoral. Cannibalism was also widely practiced in that province especially by Bukusu and Gisu communities. The liberation of Kenya by Mt Kenya region people and their cousins Kalenjin warriors brought that practice to an end although there is a chance some communities in that former Province still practice it though secretly. A succession of the former province although practically impossible could spell doom to the whole of Easter Africa and to humans in general. The pragmatic approach that Mt Kenya people and kalenjins have taken in leading Kenya for the last fifty three years have been very beneficial to all communities in Kenya. Kenya should always remain one country regardless of where the leader come from
IF KIKUYUS AND KALES INSIST…
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IF KIKUYUS AND KALES INSIST ON STEALING THE UPCOMING ELECTION, KENYA WILL BREAK UP.
Wamechoka na Uhuru ati sasa…
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Wamechoka na Uhuru ati sasa wanataka kujaribu Museveni....? What are they smoking?
@Dr. Koni Hanene. Thanks…
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@Dr. Koni Hanene. Thanks Doctor for touching a part of history many historian dare touch. Cannibalism has been well documented around the world, from Fiji to the Amazon Basin to the Congo to the Māori people of New Zealand. Neanderthals are believed to have practiced cannibalism,and Neanderthals may have been eaten by anatomically modern humans. Cannibalism has been occasionally practiced as a last resort by people suffering from famine, including in modern times. Famous examples include the ill-fated Westward expedition of the Donner Party (1846–47) and, more recently, the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 (1972), after which some survivors ate the bodies of dead passengers. Also, some mentally ill people obsess about eating others and actually do so, such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Albert Fish. So Cannibalism is not an issue isolated to the former eastern province of Uganda and the people that want to succeed from Kenya. I have a question for you Doctor is it safe to eat chicken in Kitale, Kisumu and Migori?
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