Thousands of Trans Nzoia County residents are counting losses after they were evicted from their homes on Friday, February 2 to pave the way for President William Ruto's affordable housing project.
The evictions which were carried out under the supervision of the police may render over 100,000 people homeless, according to the county Senator Allan Chesang, who is a close ally of Ruto.
While commenting on the matter, the youthful senator faulted both the County and National governments for not providing alternative land for the affected people ahead of looming demolitions.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) legislator argued the government should have prioritised compensating the victims before forcefully evicting them.
To repair the damage, he advised the government to enter into a deal with the residents who were willing to negotiate as the eviction posed a potential crisis and displacement for his people
“I want to plead with the government on behalf of Trans-Nzoia people living in government land. It is painful that the government that the people of Trans Nzoia County voted in are chasing them from their land. These are people that bought land from other people," grieved Senator Allan Chesang.
"The government has brought an army that has never been seen in this area. These soldiers are marking the beacons and chasing away the residents. It is against my wish," Chesang lamented.
Social amenities such as schools and hospitals were among the structures that were affected by the evictions. Chesang highlighted that the Cherangani Level 4 hospital which was serving thousands of residents was also brought down.
He thus urged Ruto to revisit his directive, visit the area and listen to the genuine concerns of the affected population.
"Families have laid their loved ones to rest on this land. The notion of exhuming bodies is both distressing and morally challenging. I urge His Excellency to consider the precedents set by other governments, avoiding the drastic step of demolishing properties," he pleaded.
However, he also blamed Trans Nzoia County Governor George Natembeya for allegedly supporting the demolitions rather than offering better solutions for the stranded residents.
"I want to plead with the County Government and National Government. We support the government on this project but not on its position of evicting people from this land," the Trans Nzoia County legislator added.
“It is not right, my conscience does not allow what is happening, and my people are not at peace. To be very honest, we should have a different approach."
