Court orders Interior ministry to give IDPs Sh6.5bn pay list
People claiming to be integrated internally displaced persons from across the country camp outside the Nakuru Law Courts on April 06, 2017. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- IDPs representatives are set to meet with Nakuru County Commissioner on October 29 this year.
- The IDPs wanted to scrutinise the government's list ahead of the scheduled meeting.
High Court has ordered the Interior ministry to give the lobby representing internally displaced people (IDPs) list of names set to benefit from Sh6.5 billion payout for vetting ahead October stakeholders meeting.
Justice Joel Ngugi directed the ministry to give the Internally Displaced Persons Support Initiative the list of names ahead of their upcoming meeting with Nakuru County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha.
In a bid to settle the case, Justice Ngugi had on June 26 advised the state to meet with the representatives of the 96,000 IDPs to vet the lists of names in possession of the two parties.
The meeting was scheduled for October 29, after the two parties agreed to meet.
State counsel Winnie Cheruiyot told the court that the county commissioner has agreed to meet the IDPs’ representatives.
MEETING PRE-CONDITION
But the IDPs demanded the list held by the government before the meeting is held.
Through their lawyer Wilfred Konosi, the group argued that the meeting with the commissioner would be futile unless the government gave out its list of intended beneficiaries.
“We have no problem meeting the county commissioner, however, we need to go through the list prepared by the government before the meeting,” said Mr Konosi.
IDPs moved to court last year seeking to be furnished with the full list of beneficiaries to Sh6.5 billion and other documents regarding the compensation process.
The funds were approved by the government in the 2015/16 Financial Year and were set aside for resettlement of victims of the 2007/8 post-election violence who integrated with other communities.
The lobby provided the court with a list of 96,000 names of people they claim are the genuine victims.
But government said it followed due process in compiling its list of beneficiaries.
State counsel Ms Cheruiyot dismissed the list by the IDPs, saying that it was defective.
The case listed the principal secretaries in the Devolution and Interior ministries and the Attorney-General as respondents in the case.
