This archive report was first published on 3 September 2019.
On September 3, 2019, Narok MP Johanna Ngeno and two MCAs, Jefferson Langat and Philemon Aruasa, were arrested in Melelo, Maasai Mau forest, while trying to address settlers facing eviction.
According to Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya, the area had been declared a no-go zone for politicians, and the leaders were trying to remove a roadblock erected by security personnel to monitor movement in and out of the disputed land.
“We don’t want politics in Mau forest, let them address their issues in boardrooms or at press conferences in Nairobi,” Natembeya declared.
The arrests come as hundreds of settlers have started clearing the area that has been declared a forest land by Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko, who ordered the land to be cleared of human settlement immediately.
Over 10,000 families occupying approximately 17,000 acres of forest land are facing eviction, with some families fearing forcible evictions and camping at Tendwek centre.
Security personnel have also sealed off 15 schools that were declared illegal, affecting over 4,000 learners who could not access primary schools put up by the Government at a cost of Sh40 million between 2011 and 2016.
