Terik accuses Vihiga County of marginalisation
Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo. The Terek accuse his administration of sidelining them in appointments. PHOTO| KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Members of the community are scattered and only 20,125 were recorded during the 2009 census.
The Terik community fears it could be walking the path the dodo: Extinction.
Marginalised as a minority, the community has however refused to go down without a fight.
The indigenous inhabitants of Vihiga County have gone to court, accusing the devolved administration of failing to give its members jobs.
Elders say the community has been ignored in elective and executive positions.
CHALLENGE
“We have no one nominated to the county assembly,” Mr John Bor, the Chairman of the Council of Elders to the Terik, said.
“We only depend on nominations as we are few,” Mr John Chepseba, the council secretary, added.
Theirs is a battle to have one of their own either in the county assembly or the local cabinet. But it is a historical challenge.
Members of the community are scattered and only 20,125 were recorded during the 2009 census.
VIOLATION
The community is found in Hamisi sub-county but cannot amass enough numbers to elect an MCA.
Each of these wards is dominated by the Maragoli or Tiriki (a Luhyia sub-tribe often confused with Terik).
The Terik, a Nilotic community that speaks Kalenjin dialect, were historically the first settlers in Vihiga.
Their case will be heard on April 10.
