Tea estates, maize plantations, barren strips of land are elements of the current picture that paints the Mau Forest, once a life-giving water catchment area in the country.
With less than 30 days left before the deadline to voluntarily leave the forest elapses, political overtones can still be heard, with reports of individuals gearing up for violent resistance against the government's efforts cropping up.
The Daily Nation reported on Wednesday, September 25, that activities by loggers and farmers are still in full swing, even as the day of reckoning fast approaches.
All the farming and logging action is alleged to have begun in the early 1990s, with the return of multi-party politics, when retired President Daniel Moi opened the floodgates to the forests in a bid to secure his influence in the country.
The Daily Nation claimed that Moi wanted a new constituency excised out of Molo, which had morphed into an opposition zone, so that he could exert his influence there.
At the time, the Molo MP was John Njenga Mungai who was serving a second term on a Ford-Asili ticket, having won his first term on a KANU ticket in 1988.
To meet the number of voters required to form a constituency, the Mau Forest is reported to have been turned into a free for all affair, with 'friendly' individuals receiving acres of excised land, in exchange for being members of the newly formed Kuresoi Constituency.
Moi's efforts bore fruit, and in the 1997 polls, James Koskei of KANU was elected the first area legislator.
This emboldened other high-profile individuals who are alleged to have trooped into the forest and acquired large tracts of land.
The Daily Nation stated that some high profile individuals who have been linked with possessing tracts of lands in the forests include former civil servants Zakayo Cheruiyot, Franklin Bett, Sam Mwaita and Joshua Kulei.
Also adversely listed were former KANU official from Baringo branch, Hosea Kiplagat and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi.
At the end of the free for all time length, it is alleged that the Mau Forest lost a total of 60,000 hectares of tree cover to individuals pursuing selfish interests.
President Kenyatta is planning to assert his authority by restoring the Mau to its former glory.
