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Kenya: Unwanted Citizens - The Bitter Reality Facing Internal Refugees in Rift Valley
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The Nation (Nairobi)
10 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Kipchumba Some
Nairobi
Open hostility by the locals is standing in the way of the resettlement of thousands of internal refugees in parts of the Rift Valley Province.
The evidence on the ground stands in stark contrast to what the region's leaders are saying in public.
Political leaders are forced to play the tune of their communities, whose demands are that the displaced be locked out completely from what they believe is their ancestral land.
The situation is volatile on the ground, especially in Uasin Gishu District where more than 30,000 people have no plans of going back to their homes following the Government's resettlement move dubbed Operation Rudi Nyumbani.
Failed operation
Whereas the operation has succeeded in some areas, it has failed to take off in many others.
The internal refugees in these affected areas cite insecurity as the main reason as to why they won't go back.
More than 16,000 refugees at the Eldoret ASK showground camp have refused to return to their homes, saying that they feared being attacked by their neighbours who were still unfriendly.
This hostility, that has persisted all along, brings to the fore the fact that the land issue and not the disputed presidential poll results, could have been the main force behind the post-election violence.
Rift Valley leaders, who include Agriculture minister William Ruto and his Industrialisation counterpart Henry Kosgey, have always insisted that injustices on the people of the area must be addressed.
This could explain why MPs from the province were not receptive to the recent reconciliatory visit by President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
The MPs had suggested that they tour the area ahead of the two principals to hear the sentiments of their people.
But internal refugees interviewed revealed that some of them have been attacked by their neighbours whenever they attempted to return to their farms.
These repeat attacks, they said, have reinforced the belief that they are unwanted and unwelcome to their homes by the same people they have lived with for many years.
"We know that our neighbours do not want us back. This is the bitter truth, which no one is brave enough to admit," said Mr James Muchina, the chairman of the displaced people at the camp.
"My son was attacked last week when he went to check on our farm. He was also warned not to return by irate neighbours," said Ms Dorcas Wangare.
Her son, she explained, needed seven stitches to his hand after the attack. "How then does the Government expect us to return to our home?" Ms Wangare asked.
In another incident, a group of mourners from the Eldoret refugee camp were attacked last week as they proceeded for a funeral in a village on the outskirts of the town.
"The locals started screaming when they saw us. They stoned our vehicle and told us to go back to where we came from," narrated Ms Caroline Muthoni.
Furthermore, leaflets continue to be distributed in parts of the Rift Valley, warning refugees against returning to their farms.
Such leaflets have been distributed in Burnt Forest and Moi's Bridge, which is 30 kilometres from Eldoret Town.
Destroy property
The locals have also destroyed or taken over property belonging to refugees in many parts of Rift Valley. This is to ensure that they don't return to their homes.
Some farms have even been ploughed by the locals and trees planted in others. In addition, many homes were looted clean before being razed down during the post-election violence.
"That was a sign that they were to leave and never come back. If they return, we shall fight them until they leave our land for good. That is the simple truth," said Mr Japheth Kiptum, a youth from Eldoret.
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And even though leaders from the local community have voiced their support for the resettlement process, it is emerging that their position is contrary to that of their supporters in the villages.
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