Osinde Obare And Renson Buluma
8 May 2008
Nairobi — Displaced people from a farm in Trans-Nzoia District have refused to go home.
They told the Minister for Special Programmes, Mrs Naomi Shabaan, that they were being forced to leave yet their destination was not safe.
"We are not leaving this camp even if you use excessive force, because going back to our homes is like committing suicide. There is no security," shouted a displaced person from Karaha farm.
Ululations rent the air at the Kitale showground when the minister said the displaced from Karaha farm would remain at the camp until a committee was formed to reconcile them with their neighbours.
Some displaced people from Karaha said they had received death threats.
Shabaan denied claims that the Government was forcing displaced people to return to their homes. She said those who had left did so voluntarily.
"The Government has not and will not force displaced persons to leave the camps," Shabaan said as she flagged off a convoy of more than 1,000 displaced people from Kitale showground.
The minister said the resettlement that started on Monday was going on smoothly and encouraged displaced people to voluntarily return to their homes.
The victims of post-election violence argued that they were yet to be reconciled with their tormentors.
Shabaan urged the displaced to shun those out to mislead them to stay in the camps and continue earning money from donors.
She pledged that the Government would address the issue of squatters and resettle them.
However, she warned that imposters would not benefit from the resettlement programme.
She also promised that the Government would help construct new houses for those who left the showground yesterday.
Rift Valley PC, Mr Hassan Noor Hassan, said more than 16,000 displaced people had left Noigam camp in Kachibora to their farms in Geta.
Hassan said some camps at Kipkelion would also be closed as most displaced people had left.
Elsewhere, more than 400 displaced people camping at Busia police stations have appealed to the Government to compensate them.
The families, through their chairman, Mr Francis Waihenya, said they were eager to leave the camp for a better place if the Government could provide them with basic necessities. "Most of the people at the camp can't pay rent or buy food without assistance," said Waihenya.
He said those at the camp were among the hardest hit by post-election violence and had lost all their possessions, including houses and businesses.
Waihenya said those at the camp were unhappy with the Government plans to resettle them in other camps.
"No Government official has visited the camps to discuss our plight," said Waihenya.
They appealed to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to address their problems and rescue them from more suffering.
The IDPs accused the State of being insensitive to their problems.
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