Governor demands full community engagement on Turkana oil prospects

Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai is calling for extensive involvement of the county government and residents in oil development programmes in the region.

Lomorukai wants stronger collaboration between the national and county governments in land acquisition and community engagement processes on the issue.

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“As the host county and our communities, we must be fully involved for the success of all the processes linked to oil development,” he said.

Lomorukai made the remarks when he met a delegation from the National Land Commission (NLC) and the State Departments for Lands and Petroleum, led by NLC project lead Jacob Kipkaa.

The team is in Turkana to verify unidentified Project-Affected Persons (PAPs), resolve pending land issues and conduct stakeholder engagement meetings in Turkana South and Turkana East subcounties.

More than 568 people require verification after they were left out during the initial inspection exercise.

The governor raised concerns over public participation, emphasising that the county government, as trustee of community land, must be fully involved in all processes related to land acquisition and compensation.

“The county government is the main stakeholder because we hold community land in trust. We must be included in engagements and decision-making processes. We are part of government and collaboration is necessary,” he said.

Lomorukai said he had engaged President William Ruto on the matter and assured him of Turkana county’s support for successful oil development that ensures communities benefit.

“This is a matter we take very seriously as a county, and that is why we want our communities fully engaged so that they understand the initiative,” he said.

He urged the NLC and the state departments to formally involve relevant county departments in verification, registration and compensation processes.

He also called on Gulf Energy to support the county’s efforts to strengthen community land registration to eliminate existing gaps in documentation.

County Attorney Ruth Emanikor and land executive Faith Aletea expressed concern that the county lacks comprehensive records of community land registration.

Turkana county secretary Richard Ekai also cited transparency concerns in land acquisition, noting that constitutional provisions governing land administration must be strictly followed.