Tana river councillors have said they would go to court to block the government’s plans to lease the land to Qatar to grow food.
County council vice-chairman Gure Golo said the councillors opposed the project because local communities used the delta for livestock and farming.
Golo told the Nation that during drought, livestock owners from as far as Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit and other arid regions went to the delta for pastures and water.
More than 10,000 livestock farmers in Tana Delta district would be robbed of a livelihood if the government went ahead with its plans, said the councillors.
“Since time immemorial the delta has been our lifeline because millions of our cattle and those from neighbouring district use the wetland as a grazing zone as well as for watering of animals,” said Golo.
Tana river pastoralists community association chairman Ali Wario said the group would soon hold a demonstration to protest against the government’s plan.
Wario said that it would be unrealistic for the government to lease land to a foreign country whereas all the residents are landless.
Former ambassador Hussein Dado appealed to the government to halt the process.
Kenya Marine Forum secretary Anwary Abae opposed the move, saying if the land were leased to Qatar, it would lead to the destruction of pockets of forests and bio-diversity in the delta.
Abae said the delta was home to rare species of monkeys, birds, hippos and fish, which would all disappear if the land was used for farming.
Tourism minister Najib Balala said the residents should have a say over the approval of the project.
Balala, however, said that if the land was idle, it should be leased to Qatar, because it would lead to development and provide job opportunities and social amenities.
According to the Guardian, Qatar has asked Kenya to lease it 40,000 hectares of land to grow crops as part of a proposed package that would also see the Gulf state fund a new £2.4bn port on the popular tourist island of Lamu off the east African country.
Kenyan Presidential Press Service director Isaiah Kabira said his country would benefit immensely from the deal.
Under the proposed project, the money that Qatar will give Kenya will be used to build a second sea port in Lamu and build roads and railways linking the region to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan.
