Kampala — UGANDA has suggested taking the dispute over Migingo Island to the International Court of Justice in The Hague if bilateral talks fail.

"Evidence in our possession indicates that the island is ours," the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation, Isaac Musumba, said in Nairobi on Friday.

"If Kenya believes it belongs to them, they should be ready to present their case."

Musumba, who was attending an international conference on the Great Lakes Region, said Uganda will withdraw its forces from the island when the report by the two countries calls for them to do so.

Representatives of both countries on Friday announced that a joint technical committee would be appointed to ascertain if the island belongs to Kenya or Uganda. The committee has to complete its work in two months.

In a bid to cool down emotions which have been running high over the issue, particularly in Kenya, Musumba said the two countries would not go to war over the ownership of the island.

"We will not fight Kenya over the island and we are not party to any war arrangement," the minister said.

Kenya's Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Richard Onyonka, also ruled out the possibility of war between the two countries.

"We are engaged at a high level and this issue will be handled well," he said.

He reminded Kenyans that Uganda hosts 120,000 Kenyan students and insisted that an amicable solution had to be found.

The Nairobi-based Standard on Friday published colonial maps from 1917, which were updated in 1946, indicating that Migingo, then known as Ugingo, is Kenyan territory.

The Standard also quoted Kenyan Members of Parliament who accused Uganda of frustrating dialogue and demanded the forcible eviction of the Ugandan Police forces which currently guard the island. The Google Earth map indicates the island is within Ugandan boundaries.

Musumba asked Kenyan politicians to desist from inciting the public over the issue.

"Inflammatory statements will not work and diplomatic solutions will be pursued by the two neighbouring countries."

The Ugandan minister said the Migingo row was a sign of weakness as a result of the absence of border demarcations in Lake Victoria.