2,000 families evicted from forest land in Tana River
A map of Tana River County. At least 2,000 families were evicted from forest land in Kipini area. PHOTO/GOOGLE MAPS
What you need to know:
- Some of them were arrested and taken to Witu Police station
- Residents claimed to have been living in the area for more than 20 years
More than 2000 families from Mkoma Mmoja village in Kipini area within Tana River County have been rendered homeless after they were evicted by Kenya Forest Services (KFS) officers from a piece of land claimed to be under the Nairobi Conservancy area.
The residents, who claimed to have been living in the area for more than 20 years, had their houses torched. Some of them were arrested and taken to Witu Police station.
According to one of the victims, Mr Patrick Kiema, the residents were not issued with any notice to vacate.
“We were settled here by the government in 1988 when Kipini elders protested of landless youth in the area where each one of us was given a six acre piece of land which is now claimed to be under Nairobi Conservancy,” explained Mr Kiema.
He said the officers were brutal and ruthless during their operation and arresting the youth who protested against the eviction.
“We have not been offered with any alternative place to take our families yet the officers promised to come back for massive destruction than what they already did,” he added.
Another victim, 57-year-old Ngala Katana claimed that the officers burnt down his house and food store claiming property worth more than Sh200,000 was destroyed in the Tuesday morning operation.
“They took my two bicycles and arrested my gardener after burning down my main house where nothing was rescued together with my food store with ten bags of 90 kilograms maize I harvested during the October-December season,” explained Mr Ngala.
They pleaded to the government to intervene and investigate the motive behind the eviction.
