Former squatters bury man in forest
What you need to know:
- They were paid to leave but they insisted the dead had to be buried in the forest
Some former forest dwellers sneaked into Embobut at night and conducted a burial.
The group went into the forest four hours after Kenya Forest Service officers had denied them entry to their kin’s former home.
The former forest dwellers are among those paid Sh400,000 each as compensation and ordered to find alternative settlement.
They had removed the body of Mr Joseph Losiba, 60, from a mortuary in Kapsowar, 70 kilometres away, for burial in the forest where he had lived.
When they approached the forest, they were confronted by armed KFS guards who informed them that the place was out of bounds.
“We just wanted to go to lay the old man (to rest) and we even tried to explain to the officers to no avail,” said Mr Jacob Kiirop, the dead man’s relative.
“They told us squatters were paid and even advised us that if there was nowhere to bury the deceased, the cemetery was an option.
“It is against our cultural tradition to even imagine burying someone in a cemetery,” he said.
When they realised that the guards would not let them in, the former squatters left and the forest officers thought they had boarded vehicles and returned where they had come from.
Did not go far
They did not go far.
As dusk set in, they quietly returned to the forest and buried the dead man at his former homestead in Koropken village, where they remained the whole night as required by their culture.
They left early in the morning before the KFS officers could find them.
The forest service’s regional head of conservancy, Mr Solomon Mibei, yesterday said it was wrong and illegal for the squatters to sneak in and bury the dead in the forest.
“They achieved their objective but this was very wrong and we will pursue the suspects for committing the offence,” he said.
KFS had reclaimed 16,000 hectares from squatters.
