Resettle us too, Nandi forest evictees plead

By SILAH KOSKEI

Nandi county, Kenya: Forest evictees who have been camping along roads in Nandi County have blamed the Jubilee government for failing to resettle them as it has done other Internally Displaced Persons.

The evictees expressed dissatisfaction with the way the government has handled their plight since they were chased out of the forest, even as the nation celebrates 50 years of independence.

Mr Paul Koech, the chairman of Serengonik Forest Evictees, questioned why the government did not consider them during the recent resettlement yet they have been living in the forest since the colonial period.

“We did not celebrate the 50 years since independence because our leaders have betrayed and neglected us to suffer in poverty and diseases,” he said.

Koech said eight years after they were ejected from the forest, they have lived along Cheboron road in Nandi East. He said their living conditions have worsened, with child mortality rates on the rise.

Fake beneficiaries

He said they lack access to medical centres in a region that is infested with mosquitoes. Koech said attempts by area leaders to address their plight have not borne fruit as the former Special Programmes Ministry revoked a resettlement list containing their names, saying they were not genuine beneficiaries.

The group’s vice chairman Samuel Kipkorir criticised the utterances by President Uhuru Kenyatta during the 50 years celebrations on Thursday that the government has been considerate of all its citizens, adding that their needs have been sidelined for long and they lack something to revel about.

“Uhuru and (Deputy President William) Ruto have not proven to us that we are part of the citizens who need to be protected,” he said.

He wondered why their group has not been considered for resettlement yet they have been living in the forest under a sub location. “How can 1,790 families who have lived in the forest for this long be considered as fake evictees? Furthermore we have a sub-location recognised by the government,” he said

He warned that if the government does not resettle them before January, they will move back to the forest where they have lived for long.

The Serengonik evictees were forced out of the forest in 2005 during former president Mwai Kibaki’s era with a pledge to resettle them in new farms.