University Students Splash Goodies on Evicted Residents

A section of students from Moi University stepped in to help over 1500 families who had been evicted from Mau forest on Sunday, February 28.
A section of students from Moi University stepped in to help over 1500 families who had been evicted from Mau forest on Sunday, February 28.
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Students from Moi University, Uasin Gishu County, on Sunday, February 28, stepped in to help over 1,500 families who had been evicted from Mau forest.

Speaking to KTN News, the residents thanked the students who showed their philanthropic side by giving back to the community.

"We'd like to thank the Moi university students for coming to help the people of Saptep camp," one resident noted.

The students provided basic amenities such as foodstuffs and sanitary towels. The learners said that they would continue with the initiative in order to better the living conditions for the residents.

Felled indigenous trees in the Maasai Mau Forest in Kipchoge, Narok County.
Felled indigenous trees in the Maasai Mau Forest in Kipchoge, Narok County.
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The residents had been lamenting about their poor state of living saying that they lacked basic needs to provide for their families.

Further, they cited that the condition worsened after the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

"I would like to appeal to the government to look into our plight especially for people living in Saptep camp, Lulunga ward, and other makeshift camps that we were forced to relocate in, " a resident stated.

Reports indicate that more than 50,000 people have been evicted from the Mau Forest lands since 2018 whereby more than 40,000 were evicted in July 2018 and the rest between August and November 2019. 

At least 6,000 of the evictees are facing harsh conditions as they are yet to be relocated or compensated as required under Kenyan law.

However, on the other side of the divide, the government noted that it is tasked with an international obligation to protect the Mau forest complex as it is a source of livelihood for millions of people far beyond the country’s borders.

In 2010, Kenya signed an accord (The Cooperative Framework Agreement, CFA) meant to manage the resources of River Nile. The Nile gets its water from Lake Victoria which, in turn, is fed by rivers from the Mau complex.

The CFA was signed by former Water Minister and current Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu, following negotiations that lasted for more than a decade.

Kitui governor Charity Ngilu during the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) meeting in Mombasa on January 25, 2020
Kitui governor Charity Ngilu during the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) meeting in Mombasa on January 25, 2020
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