• Some 10,000 households are targeted in the Maasai Mau block
• Politicians told to keep off as the water tower is not about tribes
Mau forest settlers will have 60 days to move out before they are evicted, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya said on Tuesday.
Natembeya said there was no going back on the eviction of those living in 21 blocks of the expansive Mau forest.
The restoration of the largest water tower in the country must be done, he said.
Some 10,000 households are targeted for eviction in Maasai Mau block. “There has been a serious encroachment in various Mau blocks. We will establish the integrity of the boundaries of the Mau forest and restore the water tower fully,” the administrator said.
“We will give the illegal settlers a grace period of 60 days to move. The government will use all the available resources and ensure the exercise is done with dignity and in a humane way,” Natembeya said.
On Tuesday, political leaders from the region protested against the looming evictions. Some Rift Valley MPs complained that Environment CS Keraiko Tobiko had refused to meet them.
Hillary Kosgei (Kipkelion West MP) said seven MPS were ready to meet with the CS after booking the appointment through the secretary.
"We wanted to see him as we had agreed. However, we were told that he had gone to Kilaguni," Hillary Kosgei of Kipkelion West said.
The regional commissioner urged the politicians to keep off the Mau evictions as the water tower is not about tribes. The restoration would go on as planned.
“The government will not be bothered with political noise. We are not here to dance to political and individual whims. Let the politicians tell the settlers the truth that they were duped," he said.
The tower forms the upper catchment for the main rivers in Rift Valley and Western Kenya that include Sondu, Mara, Ewaso Ngiro, Molo, Njoro, Nderit, Makalia and Naishi which feed Lake Victoria, Lake Baringo, Lake Nakuru and Lake Natron. Rivers such as Yala, Nyando Sondu and Nzoia also originate from the Mau.
Last week, the State published in the dailies 1,274 title deeds in the Mau complex for cancellation.
He spoke on Monday during a meeting to map out strategies on the second phase of evictions that was attended by high ranking officials from the National Police Service, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS), the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Ministry of Interior and Kenya Water Towers Agency (KWTA).
The phase one of the evictions that saw 10,000 illegal settlers evicted was centered in Reiya group ranch.
The second phase has Nkoben, Ilmotiok and Ololunga on the radar. The others are Enokishomi, Enoosokon, Nkaroni and Sisian.
The Regional Commissioner said the exercise was aimed at restoring the water tower which supports the lives of about 10 million people.
“The Mau forest debates that have been raging have no substance except heavy political undertones. We are not flouting any law here,” Natembeya said.
During the first phase of the eviction in July 2018, about 7,700 people were evicted from the forest land which saw over 12,000 acres of the forest reclaimed.
The eviction birthed heightened rhetoric from leaders of the Maa and Kalenjin communities who preoccupied themselves in heated accusations and counter accusations.
The Mau is the largest water tower in the country supporting millions of human life and wildlife in Kenya and beyond.
On July 25, the Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary (CS), Keriako Tobiko vowed to ensure the evictions go on as planned, saying that no amount of intimidation would stop it.
In a document titled, ‘Kenya Water Towers Status Report 2018, the government noted that between 1990 and 2016, there was drastic change in the landscape of East Mau.
Within the gazetted forest zone, forestland decreased by about 40 per cent from 54,804 ha in 1990 to 21,740 ha in 2016. Trees were cut down to give way to grazing land, and cultivated crops.
In addition, there is change in land use and land cover due to cutting of trees for firewood, charcoal, opening land for cultivation, occurrence of forest and bush fires and excision of gazetted forest to create human settlement” states the Kenya Water Towers Status Report 2018 report.
As a result of conversion of forest lands to open grasslands for cultivation the report notes that not only has the balanced nature of the ecosystem been upset but also many of the rivers from the Mau forest complex started to dry up as a result leading to a national outcry.