Raila blasts Uhuru on Mau pay out

Prime Minister Raila Odinga office has refuted a statement by Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta that big land owners on Mau Forest were not going to be compensated.

The PM accused the two ministers of playing political games when they claim not to be aware of any plans to pay big names that own land in the Mau forest.

In a statement issued by his director of communications, Mr Dennis Onyango, the PM said it was in the public domain that MPs forced amendments in parliament that basically force the government to compensate the big fish in the Mau saga.

On Monday, Mr Kenyatta, who is also a Deputy PM, said at a joint press conference with Mr Wekesa that he was not aware of any compensation plan for Mau big shots, who include retired President Daniel arap Moi. He said the government would only compensate those evicted from Mau last month.

But Mr Odinga said he had been against the plan of paying out big landowners in the Mau.

However, he accused those who pushed through amendments to the Mau Report to it mandatory to compensate big land owners of having been driven not by the national interest but by irresponsible personal and political motives against the Prime Minister.

“It is therefore shamefully dishonest for certain MPs now to attempt to shift responsibility for this situation to the Prime Minister – when they know full well that it was they themselves who introduced, lobbied for and passed this legislation,” he said.