Crossfire over eviction plan

Tempers flared in Parliament on Wednesday as MPs debated a motion seeking to protect Kenya's water towers. Trouble started when Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu, ODM) warned that any evictions in the controversial Mau forest would brew trouble.

Rising on points of order, East Africa Community assistant minister Peter Munya and Ephraim Maina (Mathira, Safina) accused MPs from Rift Valley of trivialising the matter for cheap political gain. Mr Ruto further infuriated a section of the MPs when he accused residents of Central Province of illegally acquiring land in Rift Valley Province.

Mr Maina, Dr Bonny Khalwale (Ikolomani, New Ford Kenya), Ms Martha Karua (Gichugu, PNU) and Mr Munya insisted that the government acts decisively to reclaim the country’s water towers which, they said, was under threat of extinction. But Ms Karua also demanded that the government provides alternative land for people currently living in Mau forest before evicting them.

Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa told the House that the government had so far reclaimed 600 hectares of forest land in Mt Elgon forest. He added that the government was determined to reclaim all forest land and had formed a task force to advise on the best way to handle the matter.

Assistant minister in the Prime Minister’s office Alfred Khangati told MPs that the report by the task force on the Mau forest was ready and awaiting to be discussed by the Cabinet. The heated motion was moved by Gideon Konchella (Kilgoris, PNU) seeking to discuss the dwindling water levels in the country’s rivers as a result of wanton destruction of the environment.

Contributing, Dr Khalwale accused powerful individuals in the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki government’s of destroying the country’s forests through irregular allocations of land.

He challenged President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to move fast and reclaim the Mau forest as its continued occupation was visiting a serious environmental problem on the country. But Mr Ruto and an assistant minister, Mr Charles Keter, opposed the Mau evictions.

Reported by Peter Leftie, Njeri Rugene, Caroline Wafula and Alphonce Shiundu