Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo in Kitale Town.

The hostile reception accorded to a group of 255 families of the IDP who were on Tuesday this week transported from Nakuru and other areas and ferried in buses and lorries to Kwanza constituency in Trans-Nzoia County is a testimony that communal cohesion among Kenyan is still far away from being perfect.

In recent weeks, a group of Kenyan leaders calling themselves G7 have been criss-crossing the full length and widest the country claiming that they had succeeded in reconciling Kenyans of diverse tribal background, particularly those who had fought the now infamous land tribal clashes.

The group is lead by the Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, who is also the Finance Minister, the suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto. They duo have already declared themselves Presidential candidateS in 2012 and presidential running-mate in the next general elections

In their series of public rallies, particularly in the Rift Valley and in other parts of Kenya, the group made it clear that they are out to united all Kenyatta, and that the communities which were hitherto hostile to each other, particularly the Kikuyus and the Kalenjins had been reconciled.

Uhuru and Ruto in their public pronouncement have turned the heat on the Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga vilifying the latter as being the major source of disunity in the country.

Kenyatta and his new found political friend, however, did not point out any one single Kenyan killed by Odinga’s Luo supporters nor have they pointed out any group of IDP forcefully evicted of their legally acquired land and property in Luo-Nyanza.

The Luos despite having been marginalized and deliberately consigned to abject poverty by all the previous regimes in Kenyatta dating back to the dictatorial rule of the founding President Jomo Kenyatta who also happen to be the biology father of Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta.

On Tuesday this week, the government packed hundreds of IDP on thre big buses and several Lorries. These IDP were collected from various camps in various parts of Nakuru including Afraha Stadium,Lanet, Kipkures and Ogilgei. The close to 255 families traveled overnight in buses and trucks hired by the Ministry of Special Programmes.

The IDP groups headed westwards to Kitale in the Trans-Nzoia County where they were expected to bi given parcels of land for settlement. The land which previously belonged to Agricultural Development Corporation measuring 1,000 acres is located in Kwanza Constituency. They IDP were expected to start anew life after living in IDP tents ever since the 2008 post-election violence.

On the morning of the next day, they journey to a new promised land came to halt. All looked well with IDP people joyfully looking forward to have the new found land where they can call their own and their homes.

Upon arrival at the site of the Promised Land, the IDP people were greeted by a rowdy youths from within the area. The youth aggressively confronted the IDP and warned them not to set their foot on the firm and ordered them to go back to where they had come from. The youths were mainly from squatters and landless people in the area

The government had earlier promised each family would be given two acres farm and a quarter of an acre for building homesteads. Each family was given Kshs 10,000 compensation and further sums of Kshs 25,000 for putting new houses.

The aggressive looking youths were joined by huge crowd of people who menacingly threatened the newcomer by insisting that there are more landless people in Trans-Nzoia. They maintained that there were more squatters in the region than in any part of Kenya, who should have given priority in settlement than those from other regions. Some of the youth even resorted to war cries and songs.

The locals insisted that there were close 10,000 squatters in the region who were spilled over from the 1992, 1997 and 2007 tribal clashes.

The Chepchoina farm is part of the vast truck owned by Agricultural Development Corporation {ADC} ,which is a government parastatal in Kwanza constituency, Trans-Nzoia West district. It borders the cattle rustling prone Mt Elgon district where Sabaot Land Defense reined terror a few year ago.

The area is frequented by heavily armed and fierce Pokot warriors who come there and steal cattle. The Pokots come armed with AK 47 assault rifles, according to the area administrative chief Richard Kirui,

Civic leaders in the area said they were vehemently opposed to the government plan of settling outsiders in their region. The outspoken nominated Councilor Pius Arap Kauka said the government should consider the possibility of settling the landless locals. By bringing people all the way from Nakuru to Kwanza is an act of incitement. He said.

The MP for Kwanza, Dr Noah Wekesa, who is the government Minister for Forestry and Wildlife said he was vehemently opposed to the idea o sending IDP from other regions to his constituency, and would not allow that to happen.

The Answer to the million questions being asked by Kenyans is simple. If the hitherto hostile neighboring communities have since been reconciled and united as claimed by Kenyatta Ruto and Musyoka axis then why can’t the government send the IDP back to their own farms? Majority of the IDP are people who had their legally acquired land and even have their title deeds and other registration papers and land certificates. Why not assist them to get back to their own homes?

The majority of the IDP are members of the Kukuyus who were forced out of their farms by the Kalenjin warriors during the tribal land clashes. If Kenyatta and Ruto alliance is genuine and fruitful, then we expected the IDP to be back on their own farms and be resettled there peacefully.

May be the so called amorphous unity and political alliance is mainly to block Raila Odinga from accessing the presidency? If that is the case then it is bound to fail because Kenyans are very much awake and cannot be taken for granted. Kenyan is built of a much society which is highly enlightened on their democratic rights and as such may not easily succumb to naivety and politics of deceits.

Some of the dejected IDP told this writer that when they arrived the youth threatened to burn them alive should they set their foot on the Chepchoina farm. They said they were ready to start a long walk back to their camps located hundreds if kilometers away if the government buses and Lorries cannot ferry them back.

It is better to live peacefully in the tents instead of this kind of treatment. We are angry at being stranded by the roadside, like slaves and lost people, and not Kenyan citizens.

But the Regional Commissioner for the North Rift, William Wayanga, was today quoted by the STANDARD as saying that the IDP will have to be settled on the farm, and he warned local leaders not to sabotage the resettlement plan, difficult as it is, for the government.

Some youths were heard shouting at the top of their voices the Kenyatta family owns more than 20,000 hectare of land in the country from Taita / Taveta, Mombasa, Laikipia, Naromoru, Nanyuki and Thika. ”The family should surrender part of the land it had acquired erroneously to the landless Kenyans,”

The area MP Dr. Noah Wekesa faulted his cabinet colleague Esther Mirugi, the Minister for Special programme for not having consulted him before purchasing the land in question, But Ms Mirugi fired back saying there was no need consulting the MP when someone is buying the land in given area within his constituency, because the MP was not the gatekeeper at Endebess.

The stand off is likely to have negative effect of the political standing of Kenyatta and Ruto the proponent of unity of all Kenyan people, and yet the duo have spoken very little about the IDP people.

The incident has given the area MP Dr. Wekesa an instant fame, when he in solidarity with his electorate openly opposed the settlement of outside within the constituency. It has brought blames games between the two Ministers who are all members of the PNU side of the coalition, and exposed the government of operating without consultation between the Ministrie

Ends