Mudslide victims in land exchange plan with State

By Fred Kibor

Residents of Elgeyo/Marakwet County living in mudslide prone areas will be relocated through a land transfer programme if the Cabinet approves the proposal.

The residents signed a petition agreeing to surrender their land to the Government to be used for conservation purposes.

They in turn will be given other parcels of land proportionate to the ones they presently own.

The petition was signed on Sunday between the Government and the locals witnessed by Special Programmes minister Esther Murugi, who said she would table it before the Cabinet.

“I will present your case to the Cabinet to be deliberated on and if approved then you will be resettled as soon as possible,” said Murugi.

During a tour of the area, the minister visited the Friday night mudslide survivors camping at various schools in Keiyo South District.

The tragedy killed 14 people and displaced more than 500 households with property worth millions of shillings being destroyed.

“I am glad that you are ready to surrender the land for your safety and I will ensure that you get resettled because we do not want to hear of mudslides killing people in this county anymore,” said the minister.

She said the Government would offset all the funeral expenses of those killed in the last weekend landslides and pay the hospital bills for those still undergoing treatment.

The minister blamed unchecked human activities on the escarpment for recurring mudslides, saying the soil has been greatly weakened, making it susceptible to mudslides.

“When it rains, water infiltrates and soaks the land. So this is a problem that will recur as long as the land remains bare. You therefore made a wise decision to agree to move,” she said.

During the visit, Murugi distributed maize, beans, cooking oil, rice, blankets and tents to the survivors camping at Rokocho Primary School, which was also damaged by floods.

Anne Chemitei, a resident of Kibargoi location who lost all her belongings to the raging floods, said they were tired of suffering each time torrential rains pound the area.

vulnerable people

She added they want to see a lasting solution to the problem and would play their part to ensure it.

“We are ready to vacate this area only if the Government agrees to settle us elsewhere even if it is today,” said Chemitei.

The residents are proposing that they be resettled in protected areas notably the expansive forests dotting the county and their former lands be converted into forests.

Area MP Jackson Kiptanui, who accompanied the minister, said the district has a forest cover of more than 30,000 hectares. “It will be in order if the Government agrees to hive off the land to settle the vulnerable people in the landslide prone regions and plant trees in these areas,” he suggested.

He appealed to the Government to hasten the process of resettling those camping in schools before schools reopen.