Emurua-Dikirr MP dismisses William Ruto over claims on Mau evictions

Emurua-Dikirr MP Johana Ngeno on Wednesday dismissed Deputy President William Ruto for linking him to the burning of houses in the Mau Forest.

Mr Ngeno said the DP had been misled to believe that he was seeking sympathy by burning houses in the forest to create a bad image for Mr Ruto.

On Tuesday, the DP said the government had not evicted anyone in the water tower and blamed “one MP” for burning the houses in a bid to soil his image in the South Rift.

Although Mr Ruto did not say who the MP was, Mr Ngeno said he knew he was being referred to because “I was the only MP who was in the area when the houses were being burnt”.

The lawmaker called a press conference at Parliament to respond to the comments by the DP during a show on Citizen TV on Tuesday night.

He said he had been called by villagers whose houses were being burnt by security officers.

'WE ALL WISH TO SAVE MAU'

“We all wish to save Mau and we have been working day and night to save it. I visited the area where the houses were being burnt by Kenya Forest officers and APs. We tried to engage them, but they ran away. We wanted to know who had given them orders to burn the houses,” he said.

He accused the DP of making wild allegations meant to taint leaders who were supporting those who had been forcefully evicted.

“The sentiments expressed by the DP were unfortunate in the sense that it should not have come from him. He should not have gone to a TV station and make wild allegations,” he added.

In the past, South Rift leaders have accused Mr Ruto of ignoring the plight of those who had been evicted though he championed their needs before he joined the government.