By John Njenga

When the internally displaced people finally left Mawingu, the country’s largest IDP camp in Gilgil, they heaved a sigh of relief —what with the weathermen predicting El Nino-type rains.

For days elderly men would look at the skies, shake their heads sadly and mutter, "We will all perish".

Their pleas to the Government to resettle them had fallen on deaf ears for months and the majority had given up hope.

So when President Kibaki ordered the closure of all IDP camps in the country and those in Mawingu got Sh35,000 and a chance to be resettled at Rongai in Nakuru, everybody was pleasantly surprised. Some even cried tears of joy when the news was announced.

But surprisingly, as the local women and their children joined the Mawingu IDPs in celebrating the good news, some of their men remained indoors and cursed the President’s directive.

The reason is that the men had taken advantage of the plight of the IDPs to offer the women basic amenities like food in exchange of sexual favours. Initially they were discreet but as time went by, many did it openly in full knowledge and sometimes view of their wives.

Take the case of a man who built a semi-permanent house where he entertained his IDP girlfriends. He did not entertain questions from his wife about his dealings or when he gave his visitor several cans of maize from the family granary to take with her as he escorted her out.

"Sometimes, the visitors would spend the night there. We are very glad that these people have left as they were breaking up our families," says a woman in Shoka village near Mawingu.

According to the woman, virtually every man in Shoka village had an IDP concubine. "Even our sons preyed on the IDPs’ daughters and that is why they are now mourning with their fathers," she says.

Then there is the case of a man in his mid 60s and still a bachelor. Because he is the proud owner of a six-acre piece of land, he is reputed to have hosted at least ten IDP women in his home over the past two years.

The man’s house is located by the dusty roadside and he would sit on a rock outside his gate and like a hawk, wait patiently for his prey. Sure enough, they would soon enough pass by and he would strike when he spotted one who interested him.

"Since he lives alone and has plenty of food from his shamba, it was not hard for the man to trap the unfortunate women. He never stuck to one woman though. We thought he would take advantage of the availability of many women to marry, but it never happened," a neigbour remarks.

When this writer tried to talk to the man about the resettlement exercise, he was disconsolate "I am sad that they are leaving.

We had accepted them as part of our community. I have personally assisted many of them. I hope the Government won’t leave them to suffer."

The man, however, was not willing to disclose whether he asked for favours to extend his help, only shaking his head sadly.

Reports of bitter fights pitting local women and IDP women were common but this would not deter randy men from venturing outside their homes. "They seemed eager to make hay while the sun shone," says Benson Kamau, a church leader.

"It was very bad for people to take advantage of the suffering of others. We are glad it has come to an end," he adds.