Garissa flood victims have protested the move by school managements to evict them from school compounds.
Last week, deputy county commissioner Samuel Njuguna warned them against returning to their homes and farms until the crisis ends. He told communities in flood-prone areas to wait for the waters to subside before they can return and restart their lives.
But speaking to the press in Garissa town on Tuesday, the families, led by their chairman Abdille Bulle, said the past one week has seen many of them threatened with eviction if they will not have left by Friday.
The more than 8,000 victims are hosted at six camps — Young Muslims, ADC Grounds, NEP Technical, Kazuku, Hyuga Girls and Jaribu primary schools.
“People claiming to be senior education officials and school administrators have in the last one week been asking flood victims to start leaving the schools, failing which police officers will be called to evict them by force,” Bulle said.
Bulle, who is camping at Kazuko Primary School, urged the government to immediately stop any form of eviction, saying going back home is the last thing they would like to hear.
“We are wondering who is issuing these orders because national government officials told us to remain in the camps until the situation in our homes gets better,” he said.
Ambia Hassan, an IDP at Hyuga, said panic has gripped them since they received threatening information as they have no alternative.
“We have every reason to worry because it is school authorities telling us to leave,” he said.
Despite the directive by the commissioner, education officials are not willing to comply. A senior officer who preferred anonymity acknowledged that they have asked the IDPs to pack and leave. He said many of them want to continue living in camps to get relief food, yet the floods are no more.
“You can't imagine the kind of destruction they (IDPs) have caused in the schools. Apart from polluting the environment, they have uprooted trees and destroyed furniture. The floods are long gone, so they should just go back to their homes,” he said.
Edited by Frank Obonyo
