News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo

The younger generations of politicians, particularly the Kalenjin MPs who of late have been pointing accusing fingers at the Prime Minister Raila Odinga blaming him of complicity in the Mau Forest evictions and rehabilitation of this important water tower are simply not telling the truth about the historical background of the matter.

The political history of Mau Forest and other injustices related to the land distribution could as well be traced back to the final constitutional talks on the future of an independent Kenya, which were held inside the famous Lancaster House in London, UK in 1962.

These problems are inter-related to the dismantling of the so-called “White Highland”. It has since emerged that during the round table constitutional talks, the African delegates who were then representing two major political parties of the time, namely KANU and KADU were subjected to too much blackmailing by the White Settlers representative and those representing colonial authorities.

And due for the then clamor for political independence and the liberation of the country fro the colonial York to an independent African government, they hastily and hurriedly rubber-stamped many clauses in the then new Lancaster House constitution that wee only meat for the protection of white settlers and their properties.

Kanu delegates were led by the founding President the late Jomo Kenyatta, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Tom Mboya, James Samuel Gichuru, Eliud Ngala Mwanda, Muhinga Chokwe and other party stalwarts like Dr Julius Gikonyo Kiano,Samuel Onyango Ayodo, and Mbiyu Koinange.

The KADU team was led by Ronald Gideon Ngala, Daniel T. Moi, Masinde Muliro, Taaitta Arap Toweett, Marie John Seroney,Peter Habenga Okondo, William Murgor and John Keen.

The moderate white settlers were led by Michael Blundell, Sir Charles Markham, Mrs Agnes Shaw, Mrs Dorothy Hughes, Bruce Mackenzie,Sir Alfred Vincent ,Culwick and Crosskill, R.S Alexander and Humprey Slade.DEREK Eriaskin and others.

There were also extremist’s racists’ white supremacists like major BP Roberts, Major F Day, Aircomodore Howard Williams and others. Ex-officio representatives included the Governor, the deputy Governor,Sir Patrick M Renson, the Chief Secretary, W.F.Coutts and Minister for legal Affairs Griffith Jones ,Q.C. and others.

The Indian community were represented by the likes of Avind Jammidar, Ibrahim Nathoo, D.B Kholi, J.S Patel, F. De Souza, C.B.Madan, K.P Shah

Due to the clamor for political independence, KANU AN KADU delegates to the talks were coerced and blackmailed by the representatives of the Her Majesty government at the Whitehall and Colonial Office led by the then Secretary of State for the British Colonies Duncan Sandys to succumbed easily to the white settlers demands for compensation for those who wished to leave the county at the independence.

The British government at the same time readly made available millions of sterling British pounds, which was to be given to the new Kenya government headed by he late Jomo Kenyatta. The money was meant to be utilized in compensation payout to the departing white settlers and partly to be used in the purchasing of the farms owned by European settlers and other for properties and partly for the settling of the millions of the landless African people of Kenya.

Immediately when the independence came and the white settlers had realized that the new African government had the money for the compensation of their land an property, there was mass exodus of whites despite of the repeated assurances given by Jomo Kenyatta and member of the post-independence cabinet that their property would be given maximum security protection under the Bill of Right entrenched in the Lancaster House constitution, the majority of the whites settlers numbering about 200,000 in population opted to go out of Kenya for green pasture elsewhere.

The new independent government half-heartedly used the money in settling few African population in Subukia, Rongai, Londiani, Molk, Olkalou, Nyahururu, Laikipia, and other places.

The settlement scheme the re-distribution of the lands were , however, biased and only dished out selectively to favor one particular community [the Kikuyu] at the expense of other needy Kenyans.

The Kikuyus were given farm lands in areas previously considered as the indigenous Kalenjin regions in total disregards of the local indignant communities.

Members of the Kalenjin community dissented to this, but the senior Kalenjin politician of the time who were none other than Daniel Arap Moi and Dr.Taaitta Arap Towett, were happily serving in he post independence cabinet an never raised any objection to the settling of Kikuyu people in area previously considered as the Kalenjin land.

Two Kalenjin politicians, however, were vehemently opposed to the spread of Kikuyu settlement in what they considered as the Kalenjin land.They were Marie John Seroney then the MP for Tinderet and Morogo Saina then the M for Eldoret North. This was the source of hostility between Seroney and the KANU government, which led to both Seroney and Saina being jailed and landed in detention camps following the no in famous Nandi Hills Declaration.

It was the same money given by the British government for the settlement o landless African people of Kenya that Kenyatta is being alleged to have used in acquiring vast plantation s land in Taita Taveta, Mwatate, Ziwani, Laikipia, Ruiru and Salgaa near Nakuru.

Jomo Kenyatta died on August 22nd and hi hen Vice President for 12 years Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi stepped into his shoes at the mantle of power. It was during Moi’s presidency hen the government half-heartedly opened up the Mau Forest and other areas for Kalenjin settlement, most of hem illegal squatters.

The first tribal land clashes between the Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Kisii, Luos, Luhyias were believes to have been launched with the full knowledge of members of the security apparatus during the Moi’s Presidency.

It was also the Moi KANU regime which encouraged tribal land clashes which were meant t cleanse the region of what were commonly called madoadoa colours out of the region

The dreaded Kalenjin warriors were secretly trained an armed with crude weapons in the Embobut Forest, Ndoinet, Marigat and Mau Forest and then ferried on government vehicles an other tracks donated by wealthy Kalenjin businessmen and farmers when they launched three prongs full scale attack on the Kisii in Sotik, Luos in Nyando Valley, Nyakach an luhyias in Lugari and along he Rift Valley-Western Provinces boundaries causing the first internally displaced persons in 1996/97 and the last clashes and the worse of all was in 2007/2008.

The original intention was to keep a bay those who were clamoring for the multi parties system of politics then opposed to the KANU doctrine of the monolithic one party dictatorship.

On the latest opposition to Raila Odinga roe in the Mau Forest saga, the Prime Minister had no personal interests in the forest, but was just executing and implementing the collective decision of the cabinet. Some of the now outspoken MPs like William Ruto were members of the cabinet and at in the cabinet meetings when decision and government plans on the rehabilitation of Mau Forest were being deliberated upon, but they did not raise any objection.

Mr Odinga should be exonerated out f these malicious accusations and falsehood a he has done nothing wrong to the Kalenjin community because the source of injustices done to this particular community as the land redistribution is concerned lies elsewhere and not strictly with Raila Odinga.

Ends