Plan to settle IDPs in Eldoret opposed
People living around Chemusian Farm during a meeting on May 12, 2011. They are protesting against the resettlement of IDPs from Nyandarua on the land. JARED NYATAYA | NATION
What you need to know:
- The landless in Uasin Gishu threaten to invade land, saying they should have been given priority
Landless people in Uasin Gishu County have threatened to invade a farm purchased for resettlement of internally displaced persons.
The land in Eldoret East was meant to accommodate IDPs from Mawingu in Nyandarua.
In a meeting on Thursday, more than 2,000 people said they would invade Chemusian Farm next week and subdivide it among themselves if the talks between them and the provincial administration fail to yield results.
Led by their chairman Bramwel Kimeli, the locals said the plan to resettle the IDPs on the farm was bound to spark ethnic unrest in the region.
He described the plan as unreasonable since there were many people in the area who have been landless since 1992.
“We have a lot of people who have been landless in the area and the government should have given them priority as beneficiaries of the land. We will resist the plan to settle any outsiders on this land while our people are languishing in poverty,” said Mr Kimeli.
The 1,040-acre farm is said to have been sold to the government by one of former president Daniel arap Moi’s aides.
A 26-man task force had been formed to steer talks between area MP Margaret Kamar, her Eldoret South counterpart Peris Simam, locals and the provincial administration on Tuesday next week.
They said that if an amicable solution on the issue is not reached, they will invade the farm and erect structures.
“On Tuesday next week we are going to meet the area MPs and the provincial administration to discuss the way forward over the issue but if a solution is not reached, squatters and the landless will subdivide the farm among themselves,” added Mr Kimeli, who is the chairman of the task force.
Thursday’s meeting brought together members of the Agikuyu community but the talks were conducted in Kalenjin.
This was the second meeting over the disputed land, with the first one convened by local leaders on Tuesday to mobilise the locals against the resettlement of the IDPs.
The land is a few kilometres away from the volatile Burnt Forest area that was hit hard by the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
The locals fear that the move is a recipe for more violence.
