Fresh Mau Forest evictions leave 1,000 families in the cold

A section of families who were evicted from Baraget forest, part of Mau complex amid efforts by the government to rehabilitate and conserve forest cover in her mission of attaining 10 per cent of forest cover. PHOTO BY KIPSANG JOSEPH

More than 1,000 families have been left homeless in a new round of Mau Forest evictions.

The evictees have been living in makeshift camps at Maasaita, Kuresoi, Nakuru County, since last week when they were kicked out of the forest by Kenya Forest Service (KFS) rangers and administration police officers.

Government agencies accuse the families of encroaching on a section of Baraget Forest, which is part of the Mau Complex.

KFS said the evictees have been frustrating the Government’s efforts to rehabilitate the forest.

Ethnic Clashes

The families claimed they were victims of the 1998 ethnic clashes and they were taken to the area by the Government after they were evicted from Lare settlement scheme in Njoro.

Gladys Rotich said armed officers stormed her home at around 10am and ordered her to move out immediately.

The mother of eight said she was in the process of rescuing her property only for the officers to destroy the maize, potato and beans she had just harvested.

“Armed officers came to my house at around 10am and ordered me to move out and immediately, then they began demolishing my house. They threatened to shoot me if I failed to comply,” said the mother with teary eyes.

Ms Rotich said she has nowhere to go after living in the area for over 15 years.

Josphat Langat, another victim, is still looking for his three children who went missing during the eviction.

Mr Langat was grazing his livestock when he saw the officers torching some of his houses.

Langat said he rushed to save his children but didn’t find them. He lost sixteen bags of potato and five sacks of maize.

“The officers also killed my chicken and dogs as I watched,” he said.

The father of four said he has lived in the area since 1998 when he was evicted from Lari settlement.

Florida Chepsang, who has a a fresh wound in her face, accused the officers of assaulting her.

“The officers ordered me to demolish my house and ne  of them roughed me up and stabbed me with a nail in my face. They went ahead to demolish my house,” she said.

Eric Kiprono, the group’s chairman, said the Government settled 350 families in the wake of the clashes and promised to allocate them land but has never fulfilled the promise.

He claimed they have been living a kilometre away from the forest cut-line.

Alternative Ways

Area MCA Njuguna Gichamu asked the Government to seek alternative ways of dealing with people who encroach on forests instead of treating them inhumanely.

The eviction comes months after Kuresoi North Deputy County Commissioner Silas Gatobu directed the families to move out.

“We shall not condone settlement of people in the forest. During eviction, about 1,000 families will be affected. Others are asking where they will move to.

Nobody lacks a home. If you do not have a home, look for your uncle, sister or a neighbour to host you,” he said when he issued the directive.

In 2008, hundreds of families were evicted from Mau Forest to pave way for the rehabilitation of the badly depleted forest.