NEWS 2009

November 29, 2009

Mudavadi tells off leaders opposing Mau evictions

By Roselyne Obala and Kipchumba Kemei 

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi has told off critics of the Mau Forest evictions.

He said the move to salvage the deteriorating water tower should be viewed as a conservation measure "Let us not politicise the Mau Complex issue. All leaders worth their salt should support the evictions," urged the DPM.

He said the Government is having difficulties identifying genuine settlers as opportunists took advantage of the relocation and planted their people in the forest.

"Some bogus settlers also want to benefit from Government resources," he noted.

Mudavadi called upon fellow Cabinet ministers and MPs to speak in one voice on the exercise.

"The exercise will not flop if my colleagues support it and educate the public on the dangers of encroaching on the complex," he added.

Human rights

The DMP was speaking at the burial of Priscilla Abwao, the first woman representative to the Legislative Council in Vihiga District. Abwao was 85.

Meanwhile, members of the Ogiek community in Maasai Mau forest have said the Government would be violating their rights if they were evicted.

They said their rights, as minorities under international conventions, should be respected. They claim the forest is their ancestral home.

SOURCE: http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1144029241&cid=159