Hundreds of people who were evicted from their settlements around Gwassi hills in Suba South constituency are pleading with the government to assist them.
Most of the affected households were evicted from Kiango areas while others from around Rangwa area.
The more than 70 families were forcibly evicted by the Kenya Forest Services. The agency says they were living in grounds that are marked as part of the Gwassi Forest.
Majority of them have sought refuge in beaches while others are housed by other residents.
The families said that the ejected them from their ancestral land without providing them with alternative places for resettlement.
Speaking to journalists, Larius Okwach, 66, said some incurred losses as they were horribly ejected with some having their houses burnt to prevent them from going back to the area.
Okwach said since 2006, the government promised to give them alternative land to settle but years later it had not done so.
“Let the government provide us with the land they promised as most of us live miserably after we were chased away from our land,” Okwach said.
He accused KFS officials of evicting them without conducting public participation.
“We could have been asked for our views before eviction but we were shocked when they chased us away, ” Okwach said
The families are also seeking help from the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government.
The situation has forced some families to change their economic activities from farming to fishing due to lack of land.
Janes Kela expressed concerns that the situation had put them in serious tribulations.
“Many of us are overwhelmed and unable to pay rent in beaches and other trading centres they live in. It’s important that the government acts and save the situation,” Kela said.
Some families who were allowed to temporarily stay with other neighbours have been told to get their land for settlement.
Kela said it was unthinkable that the government had not acted to provide them with alternative land for the past four years.
“We should be allowed to go back if they can’t give us alternative land for settlement. We are suffering like we're not Kenyan citizens,” she said.
When contacted, Homa Bay Ecosystem Conservator Oluga Onyango said he could not comment on the matter.
He told the families to channel their grievances to relevant government authority.
“My work is to conserve and increase forest cover in the county. Anybody with such grievances can seek redress from the national land commission,” Onyango said.
Edited By Kiilu Damaris
