This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko has vowed to take action against individuals who encroached on the Maasai Mau forest land, warning that arrests are imminent.
Speaking to the National Assembly Committee on Environment on Tuesday, Tobiko revealed that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations had forwarded files of those involved to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for review.
‘These individuals committed a crime by purporting to have sold land that doesn’t belong to them. They should be traced and forced to return the money. If they have any land in their names, they should resettle the people they sold land to,’ Tobiko said, adding that 14,000 hectares were sold.
The CS described the destruction that has been going on in the Mau for about three decades as ‘an ecological disaster’, adding that the government would not relent in its quest to restore it.
According to Tobiko, out of the 6,000 people who encroached on the Mau, only 716 have purported titles, 4,439 have sale agreements and letters of allotment, while 2,741 have no documents. Phase two of the evictions target 3,372 households, with 850 households having already moved out voluntarily.
Tobiko maintained that the government would not provide compensation to those involved in the encroachment, saying ‘the mere fact that the individuals hold titles signed by a government official doesn’t render an invalid process valid. The government will not compensate individuals who participated in an illegality.'
However, he said the government would ‘assist those who volunteer information’. ‘Let them come out and record a statement and provide us with all documents so we can follow up on those who duped them,’ Tobiko said.
The CS maintained that the evictions would continue, despite protests from a section of politicians, saying those being evicted come from across the political divide and tribes.
‘Mau is not a matter between the Kalenjins and the Maasai. This is a national issue, which must be protected to serve even future generations. The exercise is unstoppable, there is no going back,’ Tobiko said.
The country loses Sh3.5 billion annually as a result of the destruction of Mau, he added.
