How Embobut evictees agreed to leave the forest

By PHILEMON SUTER

The official closure of all 16 holding grounds for Embobut forest evictees by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto marked a remarkable end to years of suffering and human rights violations for the forest-dwelling people.

Scores of beneficiaries who had a chance to speak before the President officially handed Sh1.149 billion over to them to find alternative land elsewhere expressed their satisfaction.

Ms Kobilo Kipruto, 69,  a representative of  Kessom holding ground, grabbed the attention of Mr Kenyatta when she briefly narrated her tribulations with law enforcement  that saw her languish in cells for encroaching on the forest during the numerous forceful evictions.

“Mr President, over the years of these brutal police operations we had never imagined that there would come a time, a government [or] regime will wipe tears of desperation and give a lasting solution to the squatters of Embobut,” said the elderly woman in a moving statement.

“We inherited the forest land from our forefathers and we regarded it as ancestral land because we had nowhere else to go.  Police would always come to cut our crops in the farms every season leaving behind a trail of destruction. When we move our livestock out of the forest, they would all die because of change of climate and consequently life would become miserable.”

President Kenyatta officially handed the cheques to the 2,874 families of evictees in which each family received Sh400,000 and a warning against squandering the money.

“All former regimes have been chasing you out of the forest while armed with guns and matchboxes to burn your houses, but my government has approached you differently with money to help you acquire land elsewhere as you move out of the forest,” President Kenyatta said.

Those who wish to do business with the money can also start their lives wherever they go because they now have capital, Mr Kenyatta said, adding that continued destruction of the forest could lead to serious environmental implications including the drying up of the water catchments.

The President’s visit had been postponed several times following due to controversies surrounding the list of beneficiaries after it emerged that not all the evictees had been captured in the task force list.

Consequently, the government carried out a review and harmonisation in a clean-up process supervised by county commissioner Mr Arthur Osiya  that saw the State ordering a review and sending a team of representatives including principal secretaries for Devolution and Planning John A. Konchellah together with his Environment, Water and Natural Resources counterpart Richard Lesiayampe two months ago.

The road to resettlement had been rocked by politics since squatters form majority of voters in the expansive water catchment area.

“This has not been an easy exercise. In fact arriving at the required list and ascertaining the genuine squatters out of imposters has been so tedious,” said Mr Osiya.

CONTROVERSIES

Even the county government kept its hands off the exercise due to the controversies and the complexities involved.

“This has been very complex business and we decided to leave national government and local leaders to handle,” said Alex Tolgos, the county governor.

County Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, MP Kangogo Bowen [Marakwet East] constituency where the forest is located said his predecessors Ms Linah Kilimo, John Marimoi and Robert Kipkorir have roots in the forest and it is the reason every politician would always come to the defence of the squatters whenever their  fate is threatened.

The government saw the need to reclaim the forest that was under threat of extinction because squatters were cutting all the trees.

Thousands of squatters were flushed out of Embobut and the Mau forest complex in 2009, a move that attracted criticism from humanitarian agencies that described the process as brutal and inhuman.

The government formed a task force secretariat mandated to provide solutions to the State on the best way to address the degradation of the water towers and resettlement of the settlers.

The committees carried out vetting of genuine squatters and recommended their resettlement outside the forest and advised on the restoration of the reclaimed forest land.