6 African border disputes that are lingering with no end in sight

Kenya and Uganda

The densely populated island of Migingo on Lake Victoria is the source of contention between Kenya and Uganda for over a decade now. The two countries have not been able to decide as to who the rightful owner is. In the early 2000s, when the island was almost empty and situated “within Kenya on all maps,” it caught the attention of Ugandan authorities who sent officials to the island to tax fishermen and offer protection against pirates. Kenyan fisherman on Migingo started complaining that the Ugandan authorities were harassing them and chasing them from the island. They asked the Kenyan government to intervene, which subsequently sent security forces to the island in a move that nearly led the two countries to war in 2009. The two countries later created a joint commission to determine where the island border is. They relied on maps from the 1920s that were not easy to interpret. Currently, the island with its metallic shacks is co-managed by both countries as no agreement has been reached. Last September, the Ugandans pulled down a Kenyan flag that had been hoisted on the island despite the initial agreement for joint policing. This was the latest incident that showed that the protracted conflict was far from over.