Illegal settlers leave Maasai Mau Forest
Illegal settlers continued trooping out of the Maasai Mau Forest in Narok county yesterday as the 60-day deadline looms.
At the same time, the government will plant 13 million tree seedlings in an ambitious restoration programme which will be unveiled next week, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya (pictured) has said.
The administrator told People Daily several Cabinet secretaries will attend the event slated for November 1, signaling government’s commitment to save the country’s biggest water tower.
“Many of them (settlers) have already gone and those who are remaining will be removed in a very humane way and we will even take the media there to witness it,” Natembeya said, adding that the deadline elapses tomorrow.
The 46,000-hectare Maasai Mau is part of the larger Mau Forest Complex which stretches through six counties including Nakuru, Narok, Kericho, Bomet and Uasin Gishu. It is the country’s biggest water catchment and the lifeline for the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.
A spot-check showed that more than 500 families had erected a temporary camp at AIC Torokwo in Olenguruone as they mulled over their next move.
“Some of us sold our land back at home but now that we have been evicted and we don’t have anywhere to go,” said Harrison Langat, one of the settlers.
