This archive report was first published on 29 August 2019.
Published on August 29, 2019, the Government's announcement of the second phase of the Mau Forest Complex eviction has left over 1,000 people living in Sururu Settlement Scheme in fear.
Yesterday, 1,193 people who sued the Government in 2018 met with lawyers and a surveyor to determine the boundary between the forest and the settlement scheme, as ordered by the Environment and Lands Court in Nakuru in June 2019.
According to the court order, the purpose of the survey is to confirm the boundary between the two parcels of land and whether there is any encroachment. Lawyer Owen Mutai, representing the settlers, stated that State counsel and his clients will meet after which a report will be made and presented to court.
State lawyer Victor Ondieki, accompanied by two surveyors including the head of Survey and Mapping at Kenya Forest Service Evans Aluda, are part of the team in the fact-finding mission.
The settlers claim they are the legitimate allotees and absolute proprietors of Sururu Settlement Scheme, and want the court to issue orders barring the Government from kicking them out of the land.
As the Government gives 60,000 families in the Mau 60 days to voluntarily vacate or be evicted, some Rift Valley leaders are rooting for dialogue to avert a humanitarian crisis.
