Narok: Narok County Governor, Patrick Ole Ntutu, has urged about 300 families left out of the government’s Sh. 2.6 billion Mau Forest evictees compensation programme, to follow official channels as authorities review their grievances. Ntutu said the affected families, many of them from Melelo Ward, should remain patient as the National government addresses concerns over the compensation list.
According to Kenya News Agency, the Governor, speaking at Mara in Narok South during the opening of an ECDE classroom, emphasized the importance of working with local administrators, including chiefs and village elders, to verify information submitted during the compensation process. He urged the families to allow authorities to investigate and correct any omissions in the preparation and verification of the compensation list, noting that errors may have occurred.
His remarks followed Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia’s order for the families to leave the Mau Forest and present their complaints through established government channels. The families had returned to the forest and pitched tents after discovering their names were missing from the list of beneficiaries who received compensation following their eviction from the water tower. Lotiatia confirmed that approximately 13,000 families received Sh. 200,000 each under the programme while acknowledging that some affected households had not benefited.
Lotiatia dismissed claims that chiefs altered the list and advised those left out to lodge complaints with the relevant government offices. He warned against re-occupying the forest and spreading unverified information on social media, asserting that his office held the original list of evictees earmarked for compensation.
The affected families claimed thousands of households suffered losses during the eviction and called for a fresh verification exercise to establish the people and property affected. They requested a transparent process involving affected communities to ensure eligible households are neither excluded nor added to the list without justification.
Besides addressing the compensation issues, Ntutu also dismissed concerns over alleged ethnic divisions in Narok Town Ward, stating that all residents have a constitutional right to live anywhere in the country. He urged politicians to avoid using ethnic issues to mobilize support, asserting that his administration would extend youth empowerment programmes across all wards without discrimination.
The evictions were part of a broader government effort to protect the Mau water tower, a crucial forest ecosystem. In 2018, about 30,000 households were evicted in a two-phase operation. The government subsequently introduced compensation for affected households, with beneficiaries expected to meet eligibility requirements established during the verification process. The current dispute centers on families who claim they suffered losses but were not included among those compensated, leading to calls for the government to reopen the verification process.
