Kosgey breaks ranks with Raila on Mau evictions

By Standard Team

Prime Minister Raila Odinga wants leaders to stop politicising Mau Forest evictions even as his closest ally in Rift Valley broke ranks with him.

Raila spoke at a conference on ‘green electricity’ in Nairobi as the humanitarian crisis arising out of the evictions continued to worsen.

It was also a day when evicted families living on the edge of the forest defied a Government order to leave their makeshift camps and board lorries to their districts of origin.

Raila’s erstwhile ally in the Rift Valley Henry Kosgey, who is also Orange Democratic Movement chairman, rallied behind those in the province calling for compensation and the humane treatment of the families ordered to leave the forest.

And as if taking cue, Raila said the Government was doing everything possible to find a solution to the problems facing the people leaving the forest to pave way for its reclamation.Reclamation of Mau

Boy at Kipkongor camp after his family was evicted from the forest. Photo: Boniface Thuku/Standard

"We must conserve our environment and therefore we must depoliticise the activities of the Government. We would like to see all our water towers protected, not just the Mau… so the efforts are not just confined to Mau, and the Government is doing it as humanely as possible," said Raila.

The Prime Minister, whose office is co-ordinating the reclamation and rehabilitation of the Mau Forest, has lately come under criticism from his ODM MPs in the Rift Valley led by Agriculture Minister William Ruto, over the eviction of families from the forest without compensation.

"The Government efforts must not be frustrated by a few selfish politicians who are doing it purely for political reasons. We will do all that is possible to find a solution to the people leaving the forest," said Raila at the conference held at a Nairobi hotel.

Environment Minister John Michuki underscored the importance of environmental conservation, saying the situation in Mau was almost being contained.

"We have started seeing light at the end of the tunnel in Mau water catchment area, where the situation is about to be contained," said the minister.

Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi praised Raila and Michuki for their efforts to conserve the environment, noting the conservation of the environment was key to generation of energy.

Speaking to The Standard at his home, Kosgey, who is the Industrialisation minister, said the eviction of the settlers went against the spirit of a Cabinet resolution the affected would be compensated.

The minister who only last week criticised Rift Valley MPs who had attacked Raila over the Mau evictions seemed to be backtracking on his stand on the Mau.

Mau Forest evictees salvage what remained of their house after Kenya Forest Service warders reportedly demolished it. Photo: Boniface Thuku/Standard

Kosgey called on the PM’s Office and Ministries of Special Programmes, Forestry Environment and that of Provincial Administration to ensure the correct procedure was followed in the evictions.

"We agreed as a Government that the eviction would be implemented according to the laws of the land governing compulsory acquisition, but what is happening in Mau is the complete opposite," he said.

Kosgey added: "We should not render people destitute and create a humanitarian crisis as is happening now in the name of conserving Mau."

It was the first time Kosgey, a key Raila supporter in the region, was publicly breaking ranks with the PM on an issue.

Kosgey has from early this year been quiet on the Mau issue and he was understood to be supporting Raila on the controversial evictions.

Yesterday, an attempt by the Government to relocate the families hit a snag again when the families refused to board trucks to take them to their districts of origin.

Two trucks, which had been dispatched to Kapkembu makeshift camp where about 300 families are residing, turned back empty.Makeshift camps

Special Programmes PS Ali Mohammed at the weekend told the evictees they must go back to where they came from.

This is the third time the settlers have defied Government attempts to have them leave the six makeshift camps in the area.

"We will only move when the Government shows us alternative land or compensates us," said Paul Cheruiyot, one of the displaced persons camping at Kapkembu.

An attempt by the Provincial Administration to convince the families to board the lorries did not bear fruit.

"We are sending a strong message there will be no going back to the forest.

Equally, we will not allow camps at the cut-line of the forest, people must return to their home districts where they came from," said the PS.

More than 2,000 families are camping along the forest cut-line in Kipkongor, Terta, Chematich and Kapkembu in South Western Mau.

A contingent of officers from the Kenya Wildlife Service warders is expected to join the Kenya Forest Service who have been carrying out the eviction since a Government vacate notice expired two weeks ago.

On their part, Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang’ and Gwassi MP John Mbadi have accused members of the Cabinet opposed to the exercise of betrayal.

"The decision was ratified in the Cabinet and anybody opposed to it is undermining the protocol of collective responsibility in Cabinet," said Kajwang’. Consequently, they urged ministers who are against the Mau evictions to quit.

—Reports by Peter Opiyo, Vitalis Kimutai, Karanja Njoroge and Nicholas Anyuor