Widows accuse chief of striking off names from land compensation list
Christine Jepkosgey Meli, (left) and Monica Cherono, go about their daily chores outside their houses, where they are squatting on a road reserve at Keben in Nandi County on January 13, 2016. The evictees claimed their names as beneficiaries were omitted during a resentment exercise in September last year by the local provincial administration. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA |
What you need to know:
- The women were left out of an exercise in which the government last year started compensating members of the Ogiek community evicted from Serengonik Forest.
- The trio claim the area chief colluded with provincial administrators to remove them from the list.
- The Ogiek community lived in Serengonik Forest before Mwai Kibaki’s government evicted them with a promise of relocation.
- They, thereafter, moved to the foot of the forest until September last year when the government relocated them, but the three widows were left out.
Three widows, currently living in deplorable conditions in Nandi County, are seeking justice after their names were struck off a land compensation list.
The women were left out of an exercise in which the government last year started compensating members of the Ogiek community evicted from Serengonik Forest.
The trio claim the area chief colluded with provincial administrators to remove them from the list.
“Initially, we were 34 families that were to be compensated after being evicted from the forest where we lived for decades, but our local chief added five people on the list yet these people were not genuine forest evictees.
“In fact one of them is related to the chief,” alleged Ms Monica Cherono, one of the widows.
PROMISED RELOCATION
The Ogiek community lived in Serengonik Forest before Mwai Kibaki’s government evicted them with a promise of relocation.
They, thereafter, moved to the foot of the forest until September last year when the government relocated them, but the three widows were left out.
When the Nation visited them on Tuesday at Keben, Nandi Hills, the widows had put up temporary, dilapidated shelters on a road reserve.
They lamented that their living conditions were worsening by the day.
“We just want to remind the government that there are citizens who are not accessing their constitutional right of having a place to call home.
“We do not have any other place to call home since we were evicted from the forest which was our natural habitat despite the government promising to give us alternative land,” added Cherono.
COMPENSATION
Ms Christine Chepkosgey Melly said they failed to understand why some evictees were compensated while the three of them were not considered by a government they voted in and that has so far settled evictees in other regions.
“We still don’t understand the criteria that the government used to settle others leaving us out of the exercise.
“All we know is that our chief told us that we lacked national identification cards yet we had them contrary to his claims,” said Ms Melly, a mother of 11 children.
“Since we don’t have farms to grow our crops, we are forced to depend on casual jobs to make ends meet.
We cannot access health centres for medication because these facilities are far away from where we live. Our children cannot go to school as well due to our situation,” said the third widow, Ms Nancy Jepchumba.
PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION BLAMED
Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter blamed the provincial administration over the matter and acknowledged the evictees’ grievances saying that he was following up the issue to ensure the three widows and their children are compensated by the government.
However, Nandi County Commissioner Thuku Kang’ethe asked Mr Keter not to blame the provincial administration saying that the issue lies with the national board that deals with internally displaced persons.
At the same time, a row erupted in the North Rift following a call by some leaders that Kaptagat Forest, a vital water source in the area, be declared a water tower.
The issue started last November during a tour of the North Rift by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, when Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos asked the Head of State to declare the forest a water tower.
But residents have strongly opposed the move saying it was a political declaration and vowed not to back it.
“We will lose vital income generating activities if the President goes ahead and declares the forest a water tower, ‘‘ said Mr Kiprono Cheruiyot, a Community Forest Association official.
