Kiambaa team backs down on monument for victims

By Isaiah Lucheli and Dedan Okanga

The funeral committee of the Kiambaa Kenya Assemblies of God (KAG) church inferno victims says it has no plans to erect a monument in honour of the dead.

The group distanced itself from the allegations, saying those talking about the monument were neither residents of the area nor members of the committee.

The members, Mr Joseph Githuku, Pastor Stephen Mburu, Mr Joseph Keriri and Bishop Geoffrey Songok told journalists in Eldoret that their priority was entrenching peace and reconciliation efforts.

"Those people calling for the establishment of a monument are not residents of Kiambaa. What we are striving for now is peace and reconciliation," said Githuku, who lost relatives in the inferno.

Songok added: "The KAG church compound where the 36 people were buried is already a memorial site and we had no intentions of turning it to a monument."

The group warned people who were not from the area to keep off the issue to enable them concentrate on reconciliation and healing process.

Opposition by locals, MPs and lately the US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger to the construction of the monument had threatened peace initiatives in the area.

Earlier, the chairman of the funeral committee, Mr Moses Kuria, had been quoted as saying that a website in memory of the victims would also be launched.

Historical injustices

He stated that an impression of the monument would be displayed on the website with names of those who perished in the tragedy.

Eldoret South MP Peris Simam, in whose constituency Kiambaa lies, and her counterparts Joshua Kutuny (Cherangany) and Elijah Lagat (Emgwen) opposed the construction of the monument.

Tension between the Kalenjin and Kikuyu in the area was highlighted during the mass burial of the fire victims last week after ODM party leaders and residents from the Kalenjin community gave the funeral a wide berth. They claimed they were not involved in the burial plans.

Experts say that the conflict between the two communities has its roots in perceived historical injustices especially those around the emotive issue of land ownership in the cosmopolitan Rift Valley.