News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo In Kericho Town

AFTER waiting for decades in des[pair for their leaders to initiate meaningful dialogue with both the British and Kenyan governments, members of the Kipsigis community have now resolved to sue the Whitehall in demand for compensation of their ancestral land which forcefully seized by the colonial administration to pave the way for tea plantation.

The prime fertile land around the South Rift town of Kericho were seized by colonial armed security personnel, the natives houses were set ablaze and destroyed and several sub-clans of the Kipsigis community were dispatched to semi arid areas of Sigor, Bomet and other unproductive areas. Majority have remained squatters in government and other privately owned farms to-date.

The forceful eviction took place from the year 1910 and even went on up the t late 1960s. Most of the largest tea plantation and green leaves processing factories are still bearing the sub-clans names and locations

The communities now plan to file a legal suit at the International Court against the British government over the unresolved historical injustices committed by the British colonial administration against the community.

A meeting held in Nakuru town last week resolved that the suit against the British should be filed before the end of this year. All the previous attempt to petition the British government for compensate the Kipsigis famers whose ancestral land had been forcefully evicted out of their land to pave the way for the White Settlers to plant tea bushes have been fruitless. This is because the UK government has always thrown back such petition to the Kenya government.

The eviction took place at the opening of the 20th century around 1912 after the successful experiment and successful work in tea planting conducted by the pioneer white evicted and forced out of their ancestral with the help of colonial chiefs and early missionaries. Many villages were destroyed, houses razed to the ground and even some people killed during the exercise, which went on until around 1922 when several green leaves tea processing plants were established by the multinational British companies.

Spear heading the new plan is a Moi University Professor Paul Chepkwony who hails fro m Kapcheptororiet in Ainamoi an area where the community suffered the brunt of colonial brutalities.

Chepkwony was quoted at the weekend as having said that the community has already mobilized and were in the process of filing the case at the International Court of Justice to push for compensation for the people from the ancestral land.

Thousands of families said Prof Chepkwony has neither been settled nor compensated. They were consigned to semi-arid area in Bomet and other areas. Each time there is elections, the new MPs have always promised the electorate to take up the matter, and particularly the contentious issue of the land leases which was previously explained was to last for 999 years instead of the normal 99 year.

Bu the situation appeared to have changed in favor of the community because the new constitution does not allow any land lease who duration could last beyond 99 years.

There are more than 40 tea green leaves processing factories scattered in Bomet, Sotik, Bureti, Konoin and Kericho districts within the to counties of Kericho and Bomet.

Unilever and Finlays Tea Companies are the major multinational tea companies operating in the area with close to 5 o different tea estates. Nearly all the estates and factories are still bearing the names of the Kipsigis sub-0clans who were removed out of their ancestral land.

The Nakuru meeting was convene by the National Council of Churches,the Central Rift branch and the participant deplored the 99 years land leased saying it was unrealistic and deceitful.

In Kericho a number of local politicians have severely criticized the MP for giving this issue lip service, and yet the people want to know the fate of their land. The MP have always pursued their own selfish economic interest, but failed to articulate the problem facing members of the community

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com