• County IDPs coordinator Mwaura said Kinoti should instead seek to find who pocketed Sh2 billion meant for compensation.
• A matter seeking compensation has been in the High Court for the past nine years.
Internally displaced persons in Nyandarua have urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to stop resurrecting the 2007-08 post-election violence cases.
On Monday, DCI chief George Kinoti met scores of PEV victims who flocked to the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road in Nairobi "to record statements".
In view of the meeting, Nyandarua IDP coordinator James Mwaura on Tuesday said President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto had traversed the country, especially the Rift Valley, urging Kenyans to forgive each other, reconcile, preach peace and live in peace, which he said they did.
Similar sentiments were issued by DP Ruto and leaders allied to his Tangatanga faction. Mwaura said instead of reopening old wounds that had already healed, Kinoti should pursue compensation for the IDPs and go after those who killed off the National Consultative Coordination Committee Board, which was headed by Aden Wachu, claiming all the IDPs had been settled.
“Of what benefits would it be to us, the IDPs, whether someone is prosecuted and jailed or not?" he asked.
The DCI, however, denied plans to revive the 2007-08 PEV cases. In a press release issued on Tuesday, Kinoti said his meeting with victims was informed by complaints of fear and apprehension as they felt their lives and property were in imminent danger owing to threats.
On compensation, Mwaura, speaking in Ol Kalou, said out of Sh6 billion that was issued by the state for IDPs, Sh2 billion went missing, hence this is what Kinoti should be pursuing instead.
He said they, especially the integrated IDPs, were entitled to Sh200,000 each but only got Sh50,000. He questioned where the rest of the cash went.
Mwaura further said there is a matter in the Milimani High Court seeking compensation for IDPs; it has been ongoing for the past nine years. He said the matter was conclusively handled by Justice Isaac Lenaola prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court and the only thing that remains is a judgment.
Mwaura said the matter is coming up in court in January 2021 and Kinoti should ensure justice is served. One of the key witnesses in the High Court matter is a Kiambaa church victim who lost his wife and children, he said.
“We want such people to be compensated instead of going to arrest the alleged perpetrators,” he said.
He added that parcels of land bought by the state for resettlement of IDPs in Nyandarua, which had the largest number, have yet to be subdivided and allocated. He said they would like to know for whom this land is being kept and why.
Mwaura said the National IDP Network offices are still open and those who visited the DCI office should seek Patrick Githinji, the national chairman, to be included in the High Court case in Milimani so victims can be compensated once the matter is determined.
He said those desirous to see the PEV files reopened need to appreciate that “we forgave one another and agreed that we shall not fight again. But there are some fellows who want to use the BBI to cause tribe animosity, which must not be allowed.”
Edited by F'Orieny