IDPs say ‘ghost’ victims listed for compensation

By Naftal Makori

Internally Displaced Persons in Nyanza have accused the Provincial Administration of profiling non-existent IDPs for compensation.

The IDPs claim that assistant chiefs, chiefs and district commissioners colluded to enlist their relatives and close friends who were never victims of post-election violence.

Speaking in a Nyamira hotel to over 300 IDPs, Nyanza IDPs’ Network chairman Nelson Ogwegi said some DCs deliberately messed up the IDP compensation exercise.

“It was a deliberate effort by the Provincial Administration to frustrate victims of post-election violence. In some districts, DCs refused to forward the names of the IDPs while in others they developed fake names,” Ogwegi alleged.

Mr Ogwegi said Kisumu East District was the most notorious and threatened to mobilise IDPs who have not received compensation to protest the issue.

He added that they would move to court to sue the Government for discriminating against IDPs in Nyanza, a decision that was supported by the network’s patron Evans Misati, who is also the director of Health and Water Foundation.

“It is unfair that most of us have been paid just Sh10,000 while others from elsewhere have been fully compensated with Sh35,000 and allocated land,” he said.

Ogwegi said IDPs had already made a court application to sue the Government on four criminal counts namely: loss of property, murder, rape and extrajudicial killings.

ICC faulted

Misati on the other hand faulted the International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for ignoring Nyanza IDPs.

“She has perpetuated the Government’s plan to ignore Nyanza IDPs. She should have visited the region or better invite representatives so that she can listen to them too,” he said.

He said he would pursue the Netherlands based court to have them consider payment of ICC fund for victims.

Misati urged the Government to sort out issues to do with IDPs before the General Election.

He also called upon the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to provide answers as to why the Biometric Voter Registration kits were yet to be procured.