Counties

Narok opposition leaders reject Jubilee lifting of Mau settlement ban

Tiamp

Mr Joseph Tiampati. PHOTO | FILE

Opposition leaders in Narok have protested government plans to lift the 15-year-old caveat on Mau Forest and are threatening mass action if the decision is not revoked.

The plans to lift the caveat was among the pledges that President Uhuru Kenyatta made to Narok residents during his re-election campaign in Narok last week accompanied by deputy President William Ruto.

The president and his deputy toured Narok as the hunt for the Maasai votes between the Jubilee Party and the Opposition National Super Alliance (Nasa) intensified ahead of the General Election now four weeks away.

Their campaign visit came two weeks after the Nasa pitched toured the region for two days in the hunt for votes two weeks ago.

Addressing his supporters in Olmekenyu, Narok South which is one of the areas that were earmarked for evictions, President Kenyatta said no one would be evicted from the Maasai Mau forest land.

He said the government had lifted the caveat placed on the land in 2005 during former President Kibaki’s regime.

However, politicians allied to Nasa rejected the plan to lift the ban on settlement in Mau.

Chama cha Mashinani secretary-general Meitamei Ololdapash, Narok North MP Moitalel ole Kenta and ODM gubernatorial candidate Joseph Tiampati said the move was a recipe for unnecessary conflicts among communities in the area.

“Jubilee is at it again legitimising illegal title deeds through roadside declarations. The Mau should never be used as a political tool,” said Mr Ololdapash who is eyeing Narok North parliamentary seat.

About 40,000 families live in the Mau and 20,000 in the Maasai Mau under the management of the Narok County government.