Leaders cry foul over Mau evictions

Illegal settlers evicted from Mau Forest are still living on a roadside, almost a year after they were thrown out of Kenya’s largest source of water.

On Sunday, two civic leaders pleaded with the government to hasten resettlement of nearly 2,000 people to end their suffering.

They said Higher Education minister William Ruto visited the area recently and assured them that the government had set aside Sh1.5 billion to buy 7,000 acres to resettle them.

Mr David Sitienei (Tinet) and Mr Johnson Meopi (Marioshoni) said that more than a dozen people have died since the evictions were carried out last year.

At the same time, they castigated some MPs from the Rift Valley for spearheading the ‘No’ campaign instead of seeking for a lasting solution to the plight of innocent settlers.

Peddling falsehoods

“It’s despicable for some MPs to use much energy to fight the proposed constitution by peddling falsehoods on land matters in the draft instead of telling their people why they are in the cold,” said Mr Meopi.

They warned that tension was slowly creeping in between members of Ogiek community and the settlers living on the roadside who feel the former were being favoured by the government in the resettlement process.

The two councillors called the settlers to read the proposed constitution and endorse it on August 4, saying that if it was passed, they stood to reap many benefits as some of the problems they were facing would be addressed.

“If only the settlers knew that the proposed constitution is giving hope to millions of landless in Kenya, they would not be following their greedy leaders blindly,” Mr Meopi said.