This archive report was first published on 30 October 2019.
As the sixty-day grace period for squatters to leave the Mau forest comes to an end, Rift Valley leaders are gearing up for a showdown with the government over the planned evictions.
Speaking in Kericho over the weekend, Senator Aaron Cheruiyot and Belgut MP Nelson Koech told the Mau squatters to arm themselves and prepare to face off with the government if anyone tried to push them out of the Mau water tower.
‘We have said we want our respect and your threats have to stop….We are not those who throw stones and wait for teargas. You know us very well, when we start we will burn this country to the ground,’ Senator Cheruiyot said.
Leaders from DP William Ruto's backyard have been opposed to the government's plans to evict people from the Mau forest, citing human rights concerns and the fact that the squatters have nowhere else to go.
On his part, Belgut MP Nelson Koech told the residents to arm themselves and wait for government officers who dared go evict them.
‘We cannot leave the Mau. I have given an order today every one to arm themselves,” Koech said.
