Former evictee who put his life on the line for the public good

Maina Mugo, executive coordinator of Futa Magendo Network. August 16, 2021. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

In 1990, James Maina and his family were kicked out of their home in Mt Kenya Forest by the government.

They were forced to live on a road reserve in makeshift shelters for close to a decade after the government declared homes of over 3,000 families illegal settlements. The families had no hope of being settled and survived on relief food all that time.

“I was born in Gathiruthiru village in Mathira Constituency deep inside the forest. Back then, the village was thriving. However, today, most of it is uninhabited and now forms parts of the forest after the land was reclaimed,” recalls Maina.

The evictees lost everything; homes, farmlands, and all their property. Their title deeds were nullified as the Government reclaimed the Mt Kenya Forest. Many families were left in destitution.

“We had no food to eat and there was also no source of income. For us, it was survival,” says Maina. The hardships the evictees faced during their 10-year stay on Iruri road reserve formed the foundation of what would become Maina’s passion – defending human rights and fighting for justice, especially for the downtrodden.

One day, former First Lady Lucy Kibaki visited the evictees. She wept at the sight of hunger and the devastation the people faced. It was at that time that Maina made his first effort to fight for the weak. He drafted a petition, which he handed to the First Lady, seeking the Government’s help to get them out of the squalid condition in which they lived.

Relocated

“I was there when Mama Lucy visited the settlement. She met a woman who was boiling water. She had no food and was buying time hoping her children would doze off,” Maina says.

He was among the people who had gathered to see the First lady. And when Mama Lucy asked what could be done to improve their situation, Maina handed her a drafted list of possible solutions.

“Mama Lucy took up our case. She fought for us until we were all relocated to 15,000-acre Solio Settlement Scheme and compensated,” he says.

He says while the Solio Settlement Scheme was the late Mama Lucy’s brainchild, Maina was one of the coordinators who ensured the resettlement was done in a transparent manner.

Former First Lady Lucy Kibaki. [File, Standard]

When powerful people tried to grab over 200 acres of land in the settlement scheme during the resettlement process, Maina put his life on the line to defend the rightful owners.

“I wrote letters to then Central Provincial Commissioner Japhter Rugut and Police Commander John Mbijjiwe, asking them to intervene in the matter. They asked me for a list of the rightful beneficiaries,” he says.

Through his consistency and effort, he saved 27 families who almost lost their land by securing their allotment letters.

However, his actions had dire consequences as he was targeted and narrowly missed an assassination attempt on his way home.

“I was going home on a boda boda when I noticed we were being followed, so I told my boda boda rider to change the route. What I did not know was there was a gang waiting for me ahead,” Maina recalls.

His neighbour who was also taking a boda boda ride home was waylaid by the gang and on realising the targeted passenger was not Maina, they fled.

One of the alleged hitmen later approached Maina and told him of the planned murder with details of how they would dump his body.

Witness protection

“My wife and I were put into witness protection for eight months in Kisumu County as I was afraid for my life but eventually I had to come back home,” he says.

Most people in Nyeri know Maina by the name of a community-based organisation Futa Magendo, a name he answers to proudly.

“I worked with an anti-corruption lobby group called Futa Magendo Action Network. Due to my passion for seeing a corrupt-free society people who have interacted with me often call me ‘Futa Magendo’,” he says.

In 2002, he led a group of activists in saving a cemetery and an administration police camp in Nyeri town from being grabbed.

“We had to fight the land grabbers and we received good media coverage that led to action, now the public cemetery and the AP camp are still intact,” Maina said.

Maina’s passion extends beyond Nyeri, fighting for widows and orphans in the neighbouring counties.

When Wanjiru Kagiri discovered that her ancestral home had been grabbed by her neighbour, a well-known Nakuru politician, she approached Maina for help.

“When the story was published, a well-wisher approached us and paid a city lawyer Sh100,000 as a retainer to represent the widow in court,” Maina says.

The case dragged on for three years and was eventually settled out of court, with the widow fully compensated by the politician who bought her land and built her a permanent house.