Apologise, Moi urges residents

Retired President Daniel arap Moi on Sunday asked Rift Valley residents who attacked and killed thousands of their neighbours at the height of post-election violence to apologise to them.

Mr Moi said in a moving speech that the action, however painful, would lead to true reconciliation between them and the neighbours whose property was destroyed in the violence that followed the announcement of the disputed December presidential election results.

He said he was also a victim of the fighting which led to the deaths of more than 1,000 people and displacement of close to 400,000 people.

“I was a victim and part of my property was destroyed,” he said.

“We can not talk about reconciliation in a bedroom and those who know whatever they did should own up and apologise because one day we shall account for all we did before God and no lawyer would be able to defend you,” said Mr Moi.

The former president was speaking at a national prayer breakfast meeting also attended by nine MPs from the province who have taken antagonistic stances on the post-election violence.

While Kalenjin MPs have come out in defence of their people against accusations of being behind the chaos, MPs from other communities have declared that those responsible for the violence must face the music.

Political leaders have recently differed sharply over the fate of youths who are in custody over the violence.

During the meeting, church leaders suggested that the province’s name be changed from Rift Valley to Peace Valley, a proposition that was heartily welcomed by the MPs.

Meanwhile, the provincial administration in the Rift Valley has been accused of misleading the President on the resettlement programme for internal refugees.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said on Sunday that President Kibaki had been misled to believe that the resettlement exercise, dubbed Operation Rudi Nyumbani, was almost complete when thousands were still in camps.

“The President sent us to check on progress and we are dismayed to realise that the whole exercise is a flop despite briefs from the provincial administration that everything was fine,” he said.

Terrible conditions

Speaking at Gitwamba transitional camp for displaced people in Trans-Nzoia District, Mr Kenyatta said that the Government was committed to resettling all people uprooted by the violence.

Mr Kenyatta visited several camps where Kenyans are living in terrible conditions eight months after the violence.

One such camp is Lelmolok in Eldoret where more than 600 people live on a five-acre farm.

The camp is run by a committee chaired by Mr Ndung’u Njenga, who said that they cling together in camps for security.

He said their children, most of who lost their school uniforms during the violence, are forced to go to school in casual clothes.

“Our children are being discriminated against in school. During Fridays, when the national flag is hoisted, they are forced to hide in latrines as they are told that they can’t hoist the flag in casual clothes,” he said.

“When darkness sets in, so do fears of insecurity. We depend on tin lamps and due to the high cost of fuel, we can not afford it most of the time,” he said.

Mr Njenga said there was a shortage of food in the camp and handouts from the Kenya Red Cross were irregular.

He said that despite Government promises that displaced people would get Sh10,000 as compensation, no one in the camp had received the money.

Safety fears

Area MP Eugene Wamalwa said residents feared for their safety as remnants of the Sabaot Land Defence Force were still being seen in the area.

In Kipkelion, more than 1,800 formerly displaced people yesterday confronted District Commissioner Aden Halake over delays in compensation.

They said donor agencies had provided funds to assist post-election violence victims but most of them had not received any money.

They threatened to go back to the camps to await the promised assistance.

The DC, however, said the Government will provide money, building materials, seed and food until the next harvest.

Reported by Francis Mureithi, George Omonso, Peter Mwai and Sollo Kiragu