We won’t vote in 2017 as govt has abandoned us, say Mau Forest evictees living in Kericho

More than 800 people who were evicted from Mau Forest and later resettled in Lelaitich Village in Sigowet/Soin Constituency, Kericho County have threatened not to participate in next year’s general elections to protest what they term as abandonment by the national government.

The residents, who make up the 148 families that were resettled in the area four years ago after being kicked out of the Mau water tower as part of conservation efforts, accused the government of dumping them in a harsh environment and leaving them to suffer.

Charles Rop, one of the people resettled in the village, noted that even though they had identification cards, they would not register to vote as they felt that they were being treated as second-class citizens.

“We don’t want to see people coming here to campaign because we will not be interested in participating in the elections.

“We have been abandoned here to die. Our homes in Mau Forest were better because even though we were still poor, at least we had water and schools,” said Mr Rop.

THREATENED TO RETURN TO FOREST

They have threatened to move back to their previous homes in the forest if the government fails to heed their requests and drill boreholes, connect them to electricity and build a school for their children.

During a visit by Nation.co.ke to the village on Tuesday, the former Mau Forest settlers said they were living in deplorable and inhumane conditions with at least a half of the population having at one time suffered from typhoid or malaria.

Benson Cheptiony, a village elder, confirmed that over the past three years, six people, including two children, have died after being attacked by the two illnesses and decried the lack of a public hospital in the area.

An emotional Alice Kelong, also a resident of the village, said the last time they felt the presence of the government was more than a year-and-a-half ago when the final supply of food aid was delivered.

Mrs Kelong said residents have been forced to rely on a private hospital which charges at least Sh350 for treatment, an amount which is way above what the residents can afford.

“Our children are suffering from typhoid and we cannot afford the Sh1500 that we are charged at times at the private hospital. Expectant women have to part with Sh3,000 to deliver or be carried in bags to Kipsitet Health Centre because there are no passable roads,” she said.

DEMANDED FOR TITLE DEEDS

Mrs Kelong also demanded that the villagers be given title deeds for the land which was given to them by the government, noting that most were afraid of developing the land as they were unsure of ownership even though they have been given allotment letters.

She called on Deputy President William Ruto and Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony to visit Lelaitich Village and order government agencies under their control to act swiftly to address the various challenges they are facing.

A promise by Former Special Programmes Minister Esther Murugi that a borehole would be drilled to provide water for the village is yet to be fulfilled.

At the same time, despite a lightning attack which hit the village mid-2015 and left a 30-year-old man dead, no efforts have been taken to put up lightning arresters, leaving the residents in fear of future similar occurrences.

Children as young as six years old are now forced to walk for at least three kilometres to the nearest nursery school each morning after wind demolished the only nursery classroom that had been built for them by their MP Justice Kemei.

With the Constituency being a semi-arid area, residents from three villages – Lelaitich, Chebirir and Kileges – rely entirely on the untreated Chebirir River for all their water needs, exerting pressure on the resource.