This archive report was first published on 26 August 2020.
Charles Kingori and Muthee Gathera are among 50 beneficiaries who sold their land in Solio Settlement Scheme, leaving them homeless and struggling to make ends meet.
Kingori, who was resettled in 2009, sold two acres of his land for Sh140,000, which he used to build a home. However, he soon ran out of money and sold the remaining two acres, leaving him broke and alone.
He now lives in a rented room in Karatina town, where he earns Sh200 on a good day from his shoe shining business. His wife, who lives in Narumoru town with their children, does odd jobs to fend for the family.
Gathera, 65, also sold his land in Solio Settlement Scheme and now lives in Nyahururu town with his mother, who is over 90 years old. He earns a living by doing odd jobs and has been living in Nyahururu for six years.
The two men are among hundreds of families who were resettled in Solio Settlement Scheme after being evicted from Mt Kenya Forest in 1989. They were promised land and a chance to start anew, but many have found themselves back in poverty.
Kingori recalled, “At first, we were excited because the land was in my name. We had a home and land to farm on. But soon, reality sank in that we had no money to build, farm or pay school fees for our children.”
Gathera also spoke about his experience, saying, “The government did the right thing to resettle us in Solio but left us to fend for ourselves. Most of us had nothing to our names except the pieces of land and so we sold it.”
Published on August 26, 2020, in The Standard.
