The delayed resettlement of families evicted from the contentious Mau Forest is threatening the political support for the Jubilee government in South Rift.
Political supremacy in Kipsigis land. Photo courtesy
This week, Jubilee leaders from the region re-visited the volatile Mau Forest saga, and defended President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration against claims that it had reneged on its pre-election pledge to resettle the evictees within the first 100 days in power.
Behind the scenes is the battle for political supremacy in Kipsigis land between Bomet Governor Isaac Rutoand Kericho Senator Charles Keter- a close political ally to Deputy President William Ruto.
But the issue that saw former Prime Minister Raila Odinga lose the support of the Kipsigis, a sub-tribe of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group in the run up to the last General Election and subsequently the presidency, has returned to haunt the Jubilee government.
Although President Kenyatta’s administration has been defended over claims it used former Mau forest settlers as a campaign tool, a section of leaders in the South Rift are using the issue to undermine the Deputy President. Political pundits in the region view the recent visit to south-western Mau forest by Bomet Governor Ruto, as a move calculated at inciting the evictees against the government.
Growing discontent
Mr Ruto’s recent meeting at Kusumek camp-that hosts some 1,000 families came in the wake of growing discontent among 7,000 or so illegal settlers, as theJubilee government completed 100 days in office that it had promised to resettle the displaced families.
The Governor sounded sympathetic to the plight of the evictees who have spent more than four years in the cold; with torn tents and without basic facilities.
Although he appeared to apologise on behalf of the Jubilee government on the delayed promise to resettle them, Ruto faulted the move to look for land elsewhere to resettle the families and instead asked them to demand cash compensation.
“You have been in camps for a long time now as the government looks for land to resettle you. Others have been settled in land far away from home and they are not happy. You have two options; to wait for land that is not forthcoming or accept cash compensation from government,” he told the former Mau Forest settlers. The visit came after Mr Keter held a meeting with leaders at his rural home to the plight of the evictees.
The Senator told the leaders who included Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony that the Jubilee government- under the Ministry of Devolution set aside money for resettlement of the evictees in the 2013- 2014 budget. Kericho deputy Governor Susan Kikwai, MPs from the County; Benjamin Langat (Ainamoi) Erick Keter (Belgut) Nelson Sang (Bureti) Joseph Limo (Kipkelion East), Jackson Rop (Kipkelion West), Women Representative, Hellen Chepkwony, Kericho County Assembly members led by the area speaker Japheth Mutai were present.
“We recently met with the Executive and there is a programme being rolled out and we are waiting for the approval of Parliament. Once everything is done, they are going to be resettled. We haven’t forgotten about them,” said Keter.
The Senator revealed that the delay in the resettlement had also been occasioned by the reduction of government ministries from 44 to 18 and delay in appointment of accounting officers. But the evictees have rubbished the government’s renewed calls for patience and offer for cash compensation saying the 23,000 hectares of land that were said to be part of the forest was legally allocated to them and a gazette notice issued in 1998.
Mrs Ann Bett, one of the leaders representing the evictees, accuses the leaders of playing politics with their plight saying they were only interested in their votes and nothing else. “Why is it that they have failed to honor the promise they made to us before we voted?” she said, adding that it was dangerous for the local leaders to pay politics with an issue that affects their lives and those of their children.
Bett says if the leaders were serious in resettling the families, they should have explained who owns the 23,000 hectares of land where they were evicted. “That land was gazetted a settlement scheme in 1998 via gazette notice No. 890, which clearly states the boundaries between Ndoinet settlement scheme and the Mau forest.
We were allocated land outside the forest cut-line as the map and the plan indicates,” she argues. She accuses a local politician of being behind their woes saying if the jubilee government was serious about resettlement it should revert the land back to the families.
“Some of us have allotment letters while others were issued with title deeds by former President Kibaki. Why is it that part of the land said to be within the Mau forest has a tea plantation,” she poses.
But the Rift valley politicians allied to the Deputy President insist that the government is committed to resettle the families. Ainamoi MP Benjamin Langat, who is the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Finance and Trade says the government still had Sh2.5 billion for the resettlement programme of the Mau forest evictee after the first bunch were resettled in Kericho and Uasin Gishu counties.
Two weeks ago, the National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK) raised concerns over the delayed resettlement of the former Mau forest settlers saying relevant state agencies should the plight of the evictees seriously.
“Much of the environment needs to be conserved, evictions of the people from forest and government land should be planned and negotiated,” the South Rift NCCK co-coordinator Joseph Ngetich said.
By Steve Mkawale, The Standard
