Leaders from the Rift Valley, led by Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen on Thursday, October 31, took President Uhuru Kenyatta to task over the eviction of the people living in Mau Forest.
Murkomen, who convened the meeting, announced that the leaders had been forced to sit and deliberate on the forceful evictions, which he stated have left the affected residents with untold suffering.
"This is the joint position of all the Rift Valley leaders, including those who were not here. We have over 40 MPs present, three governors, and one deputy governor. We are going to be straightforward and we are not going to be taking any question," Murkomen issued the disclaimer before the press statement, which was read by Kericho County Governor Paul Cepkwony.
Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng'eno then took to the stage and called out the president over what he claimed was the use of innocent Kenyans to settle scores with unnamed senior leaders giving him a hard time at State House.
"If you have a problem with other people in your government, fight it out with them there. Do not bring issues to the children. Do not let our children die over issues that concern you," he stated.
He then took out a letter that he alleged came from President Kenyatta's office and demanded clarity on some of the instructions that were authored in the script.
"I would like for the president to read this letter from his office. The letter announces that 'any attempts to ignore the Mau eviction notice will invite a forceful dispersal, to force all the victims of the Mau area to their initial counties of origin and their ancestral lands'," Ng'eno read.
Ng'eno mentioned that he was taken aback by the contents of the document, calling upon the president to clarify what exactly was being communicated in the letter.
"I would like to ask the president if it is indeed the position of the government that people go back to where they came from. Is the government stating that everyone in the country should go back to their original homes?" he angrily posed.
Governor Chepkwony promised that leaders from the Rift Valley would document all atrocities being committed in the Mau region by security officers and seeking redress once the dust settled.
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