Gatundu residents issue 14-day ultimatum over dam payouts

The residents from Kiriko, Gituamba, Gathanji and Iruri villages said that they have yet to receive full compensation for their land, a year after the project was completed and commissioned.

The most affected residents are those living around the dam’s buffer zone. They said that the dam water had submerged their farms, making it difficult to grow crops. Some said their homes were on the verge of being marooned by water from the dam.

Other residents said the structural integrity of the homes had been damaged after they developed huge cracks during works on the project. Most pit latrines in the villages have caved in as a result of being filled with water from the dam, the residents said.

“We are living like squatters in our homes. Currently we are facing starvation because we have been left with no land to till. This dam has been the cause of all our miseries and we want the government to compensate and relocate us before tragedy strikes,” said resident Margaret Njambi.

The residents spoke during a meeting over the payout at Buchana village. They accused the government of taking them in circles and occasionally promising but failing to pay for their relocation.

“We have been left with no option but to protest the deliberate delays to compensate us. We will do everything possible to get the government’s attention so that they can address our plight once and for all,” said resident Mathew Mukuha.

Mukuha said that elderly parents in the villages were distressed and traumatised for losing their land to the dam project.

“Those living near the dam are complaining of severe colds and malaria due to the scourge of mosquitoes that invade their homes. They fear that there might be landslides in the villages that could end up claiming their lives. This is a serious matter that requires the attention of the relevant authorities,” he said.

The residents demanded the full acquisition of their small portions of land for seamless relocation. They said that the government should conduct a fresh resurvey of their land and value the crops afresh to align with the current economic situation.

The new survey and valuation, they said, would enable them to get enough compensation to purchase land in the neighbouring community.

 “We want the government to pay us our properties with the current land rates. Also the government should drop the issue of taking 30 metres of our land parcels near the dam and instead requisition the entire land so that we can relocate,” said the group’s chairman, Paul Mwangi.

The government has been seeking to acquire a 600-acre land area surrounding the dam to protect its ecosystem and facilitate control of possible pollution of the water resource through plantation of trees.

Last year, Water Cabinet Secretary Zachary Njeru told journalists that the government had set aside Sh150 million in the supplementary budget to relocate the affected residents.

He said 122 residents from 34 households whose properties, including land and homes, had been submerged would be compensated and relocated.

But the resident said they had not heard a word from the government since then.

“We have yet to receive a dime of the promised money. We have knocked several doors in Nairobi but the answer we got is that there’s no money. The President [William Ruto] during a recent visit in Kamwangi town promised to have the money released. It’s either he lied to us or some people in his government are failing him,” Mwangi said.