News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo

Five members of Parliament from the Rift Valley over the weekend expressed their total rejection of a task force team recently appointed by the Prime Minister Raila Odinga to look into the intended eviction of thousands of settler’s allocated land in the Mau Forest complex by the previous KANU and Narc regimes.

The MPs all mainly from Raila Odinga’s ODM party made a specific demand that two officials be removed from the list of task force members.

Led by the youthful Kipkellion MP Mageror Lang’at, the legislators said they would not accept nor recognize recommendations of the said task force .They further claim that a Mr.Lumumba Odenda of the Kenya Land Alliance and human rights activist Charles Ole Sena would not give residence a fair chance to give their views.

The five legislators were speaking at Mogogosiek Trading Centre in Bureti District during the Konoin Road Race in which the residents participated in the “running to conserve Mau Forest”

Lang’at on his part wondered why the government appointed the two yet it knew it pretty well the two have been the league with those fighting for the eviction of settlers from the Mau Complex.

The running to conserve Mau Forest programme was organized by the area MP Dr.Julius Kones and MPs vowed to remove the two officials they suspected to be collaborating with those out to maginalize the Kipsigis community, especially its members living diaspora Mau Forest included.

Dr.Kones told the gathering that the MPs from the region have informed the Prime Minister of their displeasure with the two and the position they have taken.

“This is something the government needs to address before the task force begins the deliberation and extensive tour of the areas affected” said Dr.Kones. We will not be party to their findings and recommendations” he added.

Kones said the communities living around Mau Forest have been at the forefront of environmental conservation and wondered why the state was blaming them for destroying the water tower?

Among the speakers was Energy Assistant Minister Charles Keter who categorically denied that there was acute shortage of water to generate electricity including the multibillion shillings Sondu-Miriu Hydro Power project and urged politicians to stop politicking the project.

Keter said he had personally visited the project site and saw there was enough water to generate electricity. It only needs to be commissioned ” he said .

Other MPs who addressed the gathering included Chepalungu MP Issac Ruto who said that those settlers set to evict out of Mau Complex would not move until the government compensate them.

“Most of these settlers in Mau had already sold their ancestral land in the former larger Kericho district and went Mau to try the land at the invitation of the previous governments . He wondered why the same government of Kenya now wants to kick them out of the legally acquired land.

Meanwhile four minority communities of forest dwellers have accused the grand coalition government of intimidating them over its plan to evict them from the forest where they have been dwelling from time immemorable.

The communities which comprise the ogiek,Yiaku,Ogiik and Sengwet said the palnned Mau Forest evictions were the beginning of a major ejection exercise the government intends to carry in all the forests.

Mr.James Koinare of the Yiaku Peoples Association has warned his sub-tribes men and other communities would move to count to bar the government from interfering with their affairs.

In Kenya, especially in the expensive Rift Valley Province there are a good numbers of Forest dwelling Communities. The communities living in government forests are commonly called “Ndorobos”. They include Ogiek,Ogiise,Yiaku and Sengwet. Ndorobo are also found in parts of Taita Hills at the Coast Province where they are called Oriangulos.

In the Rift Valley the “Ndorobos ” dwells in the indigenous
. They don’t till the land or keep livestock, but their livelihoods revolve around hunting small game animals(antelopes,) bee-keeping and gathering of wild fruits and herbs for food and medicine.

These forest dwellers are found in many places ,but huge numbers inhabit the controversial Mau forest complex, Mukogodo, Mt.Elgon, Ndoinet and Cherangany forest in the Rift valley Province.

The government has now ordered communities to vacate the forest or be forcefully evicted, but the communities are now threatening to sue the government over the planned evictions.

The “Ndorobos” forest dwellers have lived in the places mentioned ever since the colonial times when they were classifies by the British colonialists as untouchable people.

They posed no threat to the ecosystem and environmental degradation since they are not involved in land cultivation nor contribution of permanent houses to schools or keeping domesticated livestock but depends entirely on the forests resources like honey-bees, wild fruits and hunting of small antelopes

The “Ndorobos” Ogiek have expressed concern that their people were among the targeted group in the 400,000 hectares Mau Forest water tower evictions.

“The Ogiek are on the verge of being thrown out of Mau Forest and we fear that we may soon follow suit said a spokes person of the Yiaku community.

While another spokesman Mr.Daudi Leboo of the Ogiek said his comminuty should be allowed to continue living inMau Forest since they contribute a lot in conservation and have no other home . the communities have also called for their inclusion in the national forest and land governance structures.

“We have been sidelined for along time leading to our under development: said Mr. Joseph Kakweitu a member of the Ogiek.

Most of the “Ndorobos” or Ogiek are the concoctions from the various Kalenjin larger ethnic groups. These are the people who flatly refused to come out of the forest in the late 19th and 20th century when the British colonialists invaded Kenya and made the country a British protectorate colony. They have seen no light in terms of modern life and very few of their Children came out of the forest to go to schools

Ends

Leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

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Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:35:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: FOREST DWELLERS SAYS THEY ARE NOT MOVING OUT OF MAU COMPLEX AS RIFT VALLEY MPS REJECT RAILA APPOINTED TASK FORCE TEAM

News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo in
Kericho

In the 9th Parliament members of the Kipsigis community were represented by a total number of eleven Mps. The community then had its root in al major political parties.

But in the 10th Parliament, this same community banked its hopes in the Orange Democratic Party of the Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga and bugged a total of nine Mps for the ODM,but none of the members were considered for nomination to the Parliament.

In the 2002, the late Kipkalia Kones was a Presidential running mate of Ford People party leader Simeon Nyachae. Kones lost his seat in Bomet constituency to the youthful KANU aspirant Nick Salat,but was later nominated by the party to Parliament.

KANU which shared the same number of seats with LDP nominated Dr.Esther Keino to Parliament,while the LDP picked Franklin Bett as its parliamentary nominee.

The Kipsigis ,the most populous subtribe of the larger Kalenjin ethnic groups stands as the bedrock of the Rift Valley Province and plays the most significant political role in the region.

In 2007, the ODM swept the board in all the eight parliamentary constituencies which are scattered in five administrative districts namely, Kericho,Bureti,Sotik,bomet and Kipkellion. It unceremoniously ended the nearly 42 years of uninterrupted KANU political dominace of the South Rift region.

Those who went to Parlaiment on ODM ticket were Dr.Julius Kones (Konoin),Franklin Bett (Buret) Charles Keter (Belgut),Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu) Magaret Langat (Kipkellion),Lorna Laboso (Sotik),David K Too (Ainamoi) and Kipkalia Kones (Bomet)

The community bugged another importants eat in the diaspora that of Kuresoi in the newly created Molo district where the former powerful PS in the moi regime Zakayo K Cheruiyot won a popular vote for the ODM.

All these electoral parliamentary constituencies were for many years had remained steadfastly in the hand of KANU until the euphoric of the ODM waves changed the political dimension of the South Rift.

And soon after the 2007 general elections two names of prominent Kipsigis political elite whose active participation in the ODM elections campaigns were proposed by the elected MPs for consideration for nomination to Parliament.

The persons whose names were proposed and submitted to the ODM hierarchy for nomination were the former deputy CGS Lt Gen (rtd) John Koech and a prominent gender campaigner Mrs Rachel yegon. Both had contested the election on ODM ticket but lost in the party primaries ,but were later to become big asset in the party campaign in the region and its eventual victory which locked out and sealed the fate of KANU in Kipsigis land.

Gen Koech who has now ditched ODM and took over the mantle of UDM party leadership was arguably the man who became an instrumental tool for the ODM victories not only in the Kipsigis region but in the entire Kalenjin Community.

But the newly MP David Too who had beaten the General in a much flawed ODM nomination system, the retired and highly respected former Army Commander stood again and contested the Ainamoi seat in the by-election ,but this time around he was rigged out for the second time having been rigged out in the 2007 for the first time.

Political pundits and local observers were quick in pointing their finger at the Eldoret North MP William Ruto and the Belgut MP Charles Keter accusing the two for having allegedly conspired with others to ensure that only weak and inexperienced candidates who could be prone to political manipulation won the seats in the South Rift region.

The two its further being alleged were also not happy with Raila Odinga closeness to the late Kipkalya Kones and the late Lorna Laboso.

In the cabinet appointment in the grand coalition government Raila Odinga picked Kones and Laboso for ministerial posts mainly due to their unwavering loyalty to the ODMM. Ruto¢s camp had proposed other names, but only Keter survived when he was named as assistant Minister for Energy.

It later emerged that Raila Odinga avoided the names of those MPs whose loyalty to the ODM was questionable and those alleged to have been in secret contacts with KANU.

There was hue and cry for the ODM flawed and much abused nomination susytem,but the party¢s hierarchy did not adequately addressed the issue to the satisfaction o f the electorate and the stakeholders.

And because of turning deaf ears to the general cow pants of its poor corrupt and highly manipulated nomination system,ODM has lost a sizeable number hitherto unchallenged supremacy in Kipsigis land.

The man who was architect for its victory in the region Lt Gen (rtd) Koech has ditched the party and neatly taken over the leadership of the previously adamant and run down United Democratic Movement (UDM) with a completely changed new faces of the registered national officials. UDM is now said to be making major inroads in Kipsigis land in expectation of the inevitable major fallout between Raila Odinga and the Minister for Agriculture William Ruto before the year 2012.

UDM blames Ruto for having made sure that the Nandis a majority community compared to the Kispsigis bugged three cabinet slots in the grand coalition government whereas the Kipsigis a sub-tribe which gave the ODM and Raila Odinga a total of 1.3 million votes in 2007 was locked out of the cabinet with only Kones being appointed to the cabinet due to the insistence of Raila Odinga who had faith on the late Minister as a staunch ODM supporter.

The new UDM group, a party in which Ruto was predictably expected to fall back on the event of the expected fallout are said to be having soft heart for Raila Odinga ,but have no love lost for William Ruto and has vowed to have his men and agents rooted out of Kipsigis land. The group see the over ambitious Ruto as someone who is playing the divide and rule tactics of the former Moi KANU regime in the Kipsigis region.

Gen Koech said during a lengthy interview with this writer that the new UDM leadership is out to bring to an end the many years of frustration and maginalization of the Kipsigis by the cousins from the North Rift,the Nandis,Turgens and Keiyos. The party has launched an elaborate programme to popularize itself in the South Rift region hoping to capitalize on the ongoing discontent over the planned Mau Forest evictions ina dispute representation of the Kipsigis community in the grand coalition government ,which are all balmed on Ruto¢s political manipulation scheme.

Ruto , the UDM claim is a pplying double satdnards on Raila Odinga citing the recent controversial meeting between the PM and Kipsigis elders and MPs as well as the professionals and civic leaders inKericho. During the tension charged encounter the PM was humiliated and embarrassed by Ruto¢s political cronies led by Keter in a plan hatched to humiliate raila as a friend turned enemy of the community.

Ruto did not attend the meeting but his men on the ground were properly briefed on what to tell Raila,but Ruto¢s political manipulation mechanism was exposed . It has something to do with 2012 general election in which Ruto has already his working machineries on the ground to route Raila¢s influence out of Rift Valley so that he could himself become the President or Prime Minister in the next government in a coalition with PNU.

ENDS

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

– – –
Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:26:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: THE POLITICAL WAR BETWEEN RAILA AND RUTO HAS STARTED OVER WHO WILL BE IN CONTROL OF THE RIFT VALLEY VOTES IN 2012