By Steve Mkawale

The once volatile region had stagnated due to ethnic violence but is now flourishing

Since the advent of multiparty politics, Molo has made news headlines for all wrong reasons.

For 21 years, the small rugged town, west of Nakuru County was synonymous with ethnic or politically instigated violence that rocked the country between 1990 and 2008.

Lives were lost as well as property estimated at Sh6 billion destroyed. The 1992 and 1997 ethnic flare-ups are said to have led to loss of about 2,000 lives in Molo alone. Thousands of other people abandoned their homes to seek refuge elsewhere after life became unbearable due to frequent attacks and torching of property. But about a decade-and-a-half later, Molo Constituency is once again flourishing. During and after the last General Election, Molo was calm thanks to peace initiatives by various actors, including the Government.

boosting peace

In the run up to the polls, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto visited the region to drum up support for peace.

The two helped to unite two ethnic communities that are dominant in the area, thus boosting peace.

“Everyone now wants a piece of Molo. You can see the kind of investment going on. The price of land has tripled in the past months. An acre of land that was going for Sh100,000 five years ago now fetches Sh500,000,” said farmer Francis Karanja of Turi farm. Mr Karanja, one of the farmers who bore the brunt of 1992 and 1997 ethnic clashes, said the future looks bright for an area that was once shunned by people and branded unsafe.

“I have expanded my farming from two acres to 50 acres of profitable mixed farming without fear of losing my animals and property to cattle thieves and arsonists,” he said as he supervised a group of young men busy planting potatoes.

Karanja is not the only happy farmer in the constituency. Mr Philip Korir, a dairy farmer from Chepalungu area, is happy with turn of events. “I never used to sell my produce in Molo town for fear of being attacked. Much of my milk would go to waste because people here could not consume what I produce,” he recalled.

No market

Mr Korir added he could not risk venturing into the market for fear that his neighbours would attack him and steal his money.

“We had this belief that going to Molo to market our produce was suicidal. So we ended up either giving the milk free or pouring it because there was no market. But now I have customers from Molo coming to collect the product,” he said.

Ms Mary Moraa, a resident of Giticha, one of the spots where tens of families were uprooted in the 2007 post-election violence, said it is the first time in many years that Molo has been calm.

“It was important that we voted as people of Molo and not as communities. That way, we knew there will be peace,” she said.

Molo town has grown in leaps and bounds.

The town now boasts of seven commercial banks, three micro-finance institutions, a shopping mall and several hotels.

Buildings are sprouting almost on every street. Along ‘Wall Street’ that cuts through the town from Molo Township Secondary School to Peace Area, it is evident that residents are busy rebuilding the constituency. The number of new structures is on the rise. This has re-awakened the construction business.

Mr John Mwangi, director of Triparagon Construction Company, agreed that business is good and residents are investing heavily in the real estate sector after a lull.

“The construction business is booming. We have a number of ongoing projects and we are expecting more. Most of our clients are locals,” he said.

Molo MP Jacob Macharia said his main agenda is to rebuild the constituency to reclaim the lost glory of a town that used to be land of plenty.

“Since my election, I have held meetings with elders from all communities and reaffirmed my commitment to protect the interests of each one of the communities without favours,” Mr Macharia said.

The MP said plans are at advanced stage to set up an all communities football team known as Molo United Football Club.