A group of over 2,500 evictees from Maasai Mau Forest in Narok County have withdrawn their support for President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto.
The evictees on Tuesday noted that they would support the National Super Alliance (NASA) Presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, in the August election as the Jubilee administration had failed to resettle them after being evicted in 2015.
Led by their Chairperson Robert Mutai, the evictees stated that the Jubilee government promised to compensate them in 2013 but had not done so and had even omitted them from the list of those to be compensated in July as announced by the DP.
“Ruto has been laying the blame of forceful eviction on NASA leader Raila Odinga but we have proven he is worse than Raila,” Mutai stated.
Mr Mutai accused the DP of neglecting the evictees stating that he (Ruto) did not fight for them when cheques were being issued to other evictees in other regions by the President.
“He used to be a sweet talker but we are dying under his watch. He has ensured all Jubilee leaders from the region don’t talk about us. We have proof that he punishes those who dare to mention IDPs.
“We will not vote them. It is better for us to vote for Raila so we can come to a bargain with the help of Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto," Mutai stated.
Mutai warned that they will soon hold street demonstrations in the town to protest against leaders in the ruling coalition.
Earlier this month, President Kenyatta had promised to ensure that the remaining IDPs in all other counties would be resettled in due course as the Jubilee administration stepped up efforts to address the challenge.
“We are determined to ensure that no IDP will be left uncompensated. We have embarked on a journey to ensure that we bury that challenge once and for all,” the President stated.
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