Home Affairs Minister Mwigulu Nchemba has warned of stern legal actions against perpetrators of extrajudicial killings in areas with land conflicts pitting farmers on one hand and livestock keepers on the other.
“There are no farms or herds of livestock that are worth the lives of human beings; the government will take actions on people who take laws into their own hand due to land conflicts,” Mr Nchemba remarked when responding to a supplementary question by Mikumi MP, Mr Joseph Haule (Chadema).
Mr Haule alias ‘Professor Jay’, had complained before the august House that two people were killed at Tindiga Ward in his constituency since June this year due to land conflicts between farmers and pastoralists.
It was at this juncture that the Minister assured the National Assembly that the police will conduct an extensive manhunt to pin down perpetrators of the murders.
Earlier, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr William Ole Nasha, attributed land disputes in Mikumi to blockade of water flowing on River Miyombo by farmers in Tindinga and Kilangali wards for irrigation purposes.
“The blockage thus denies pastoralists access to water for their livestock; in addition there are border disputes between Kiduhi and Kilangali villages which makes it impossible for livestock cross over to the river,” Mr Ole Nasha noted.
To address the situation, the Deputy Minister said the government had through the Kilosa District Council allocated funds in the current financial year to drill boreholes in Kiduhi and Kilangali villages to provide water for the livestock