Trans Nzoia county is seeking to strengthen joint development and social initiatives with communities on the Ugandan side of the border as part of efforts to deepen regional integration.
County Secretary Truphosa Amere said the county was implementing joint initiatives in environmental conservation, sports, cultural activities and other development programmes aimed at benefiting communities living along the border.
She said the county would set aside land for tree planting as part of efforts to safeguard the environment, including areas along the border, for future generations.
Amere said the county leadership under Governor George Natembeya was keen on breaking down what she termed “artificial boundaries” that have long separated communities living along the border.
“Our people on either side of the border are one people. We must work together, plan together and grow together as East Africans,” Amere said.
She was speaking in Kitale when 33 cyclists from across East Africa were hosted by the County Department of Education and Vocational Training as part of the Great African Cycling Safari.
The 55-day, 6,000-kilometre tour is traversing Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. It is promoting closer ties among East African Community member states through sport, tourism, food security and environmental conservation.
Amere said Trans Nzoia was ready to support the initiative, noting that the region’s natural resources placed it at the centre of East Africa’s economic future.
“Trans Nzoia is the bread basket of East Africa. We host Mount Elgon and the Cherangani Hills, our two water towers, and we must protect them for the sake of Kenya and the whole of Africa,” she said.
Great African Cycling Safari coordinator Julius Mwendwa said the tour was designed to highlight tourist sites that rarely feature in mainstream travel conversations while promoting food security and climate action across the region.
“We are cycling to open the eyes of the world to places they have never heard of. Every county we pass through has something unique, and we want to tell that story through our social media and our partners in the mainstream media,” Mwendwa said.
He described Trans Nzoia as a regional food basket because of its maize production but cautioned that food insecurity remained a challenge East Africans must confront together.
“We are calling for chakula safi, chakula chakutosha—clean food, enough food for every East African family. Prices are going up and we cannot ignore that,” Mwendwa said.
He announced plans to establish community forests along the cycling route, with locals donating land, planting trees and taking responsibility for maintaining them.
Mwendwa said a similar project was already in place in Timboroa.
“We have a demonstration forest in Timboroa that is already benefiting the community through improved food production and jobs. We want the same here in Trans Nzoia, and we are asking the county to give us space to start,” he said.
He also raised concerns over border bureaucracy, calling for simplified travel and health documentation requirements, harmonised currency exchange systems and a shared approach to language to ease the movement of people across East African borders.
Trans Nzoia Education and Vocational Training executive Janerose Mutama said the county remained committed to nurturing young talent and keeping young people engaged through skills training.
“We are Africans first before we are Kenyans, Ugandans or Rwandese. Borders should not divide us. Our people need food, security, education and jobs, and that is what unites us,” Mutama said.
Director of Vocational Training Eliud Lusweti said young people across the EAC bloc faced similar challenges and welcomed joint programmes in skills training and sport as a way of building lasting ties among young East Africans.
“Our young people, whether from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda or Burundi, are dealing with the same problems. Bringing them together through skills and sport is one way of building a common future,” Lusweti said.
He said the cyclists would proceed through Trans Nzoia towards the boundary with Bungoma County, with accommodation for the group arranged through the education department.
The reception was also attended by County Executive Committee Members Dr Pepela Wanjala (Finance), Sam Ojwang (PSM), Eliud Tormoi (Gender), Patrick Gacheru (Trade) and Pius Gumo (Lands), as well as Deputy County Secretary George Kisaka.
The leaders called for stronger cohesion among East African Community member states.
