MPs: Not enough done for the displaced

Eight Members of Parliament among them four assistant ministers have called for an investigation into issues related to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The legislators said though the Government has initiated a programme to resettle those who were displaced after 2007 polls, more needed to be done to address those affected by ethnic clashes since 1992.

In a statement read by Water and Irrigation assistant Mwangi Kiunjuri, the MPs said land compensation was not adequate for the injustices suffered by the displaced people.

“Displaced families lost more than land. They have lost years of investment; they have lost sources of livelihood built over time; they have lost community relationship, emotional bonds and social capital of years,” they said.

Mr Kiunjuri was accompanied by Naivasha MP John Mututho but the statement was signed by six other legislators. They included assistant ministers Lee Kinyanjui (Roads), Ndiritu Muriithi (Industrialization) and Kabando wa Kabando (Youth and Sports). Other MPs included Nelson Gaichuhie (Subukia) and Joseph Kiuna (Molo).

Ancestral homes

The MPs said thousands of people were evicted from their homes in the Rift Valley province and fled back to their ancestral homes. They said many of the displaced ended up in Central Kenya, where they moved into makeshift camps and homes of friends and relatives.

Last year’s violence, which drew international condemnation and dented the country’s image among the community of nations, left 1,633 people dead and 650,000 displaced from their homes.

Some of the displaced people have pulled together resources to buy land while others have benefited from land bought by the government in different parts of the country such as Molo and Ongata Rongai.

Mr Kiunjuri, who is also the Laikipia East MP, said that without a dedicated body looking into these issues, efforts by government are likely to remain sporadic, incomprehensive and superficial.

“Why is it that the Government moved fast to establish commission to look into the Mau Forest issue whereas the problem of IDPs has been with us for nearly two decades?” posed the MP, speaking on behalf of his colleagues.

He said the commission should have a time frame of not less than two years and be located in the Office of the President with enough resources to carry out the mandate effectively.
Mr Kiunjuri read the statement when he led well wishers into donating materials to victims of the post election polls who recently moved from Kirathimo in Kiambu West district to Wamura village in Laikipia Central district.