Under the early morning sun that shines in Teso North and the rolling hills of Bungoma, a story of peace and reconciliation from centuries ago still echoes.
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The dispute over the placement of Changara division, currently simmering in political debate, was first settled in the early 19th century.
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It was settled by elders from the Bukusu and Teso communities — not with weapons, but through the sharing of raw dog meat, a ritual meant to seal an end to decades of bloodshed.
Samson Olubayi, 94, who later served as Teso North chief for more than 40 years, recalls witnessing the ritual at Mwiala wa Mango near present-day Malakisi in Bungoma county.
The unusual act symbolised reconciliation and ended prolonged conflict over land and survival.
“It was after this dog ritual that the two communities started intermarrying, doing business together and building markets. The population here today is now a mixture,” Olubayi told the Star by phone.
The sharing of dog meat, he explained, involved eating something both communities did not normally consume — and would not eat again — to signify a lasting commitment to peace.
Historically, the Teso tribe occupied areas as far as Chetambe in Webuye subcounty in Bungoma county, before gradually retreating.
It was only in the early 19th century that elders negotiated the boundaries that are largely recognised today.
Olubayi said Changara division is legally part of Busia county, countering claims by Sirisia MP John Waluke, who recently suggested the division should be moved to Bungoma.
Waluke called on the government to degazette Changara and recall the Assistant County Commissioner overseeing the division.
Teso North MP Oku Kaunya dismissed the claims as “reckless and misleading”, warning that they risk inflaming tensions between two communities that have coexisted peacefully since independence.
“Changara was created after being hived off from Ang’urai division through proper administrative and legal procedures,” Kaunya said, adding that Waluke’s assertions could undermine harmony along the Teso North–Sirisia border.
A statement read by Ang’urai East MCA David Parapara noted that both current and former MCAs affirm the division was established by the 1962 Regional Boundaries and Constituencies Delimitation Commission, chaired by Sir Stafford Sutton, Sir John Fletcher and WCS Corry, and gazetted under Constituency Paper No. 1921 of December 1962.
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