Nairobi — Some internal refugees in the North Rift are still in transit camps a month after the Kenyan Government wound up the drive to resettle them.

Eldoret East and the larger Trans-Nzoia districts have satellite camps where the victims of the post-election violence victims live. Some have refused to go back to their farms citing security concerns and are demanding to be settled on alternative land.

Some of the IDPs in the transit camps are said to be squatters who have vowed to stay put until the government allocates them land. There are those who rejected the Sh35,000 given by the government and asked to be allocated land instead.

Given money

"We will not vacate this camp even if we are given money since we have nowhere to go," said Anna Wanjiku. The Eldoret camp, which was the largest in the country, was recently closed down after the government released Sh16.7 million to 507 families.

Some of the people pooled money and bought land on which they have settled. A group from the Eldoret Showground camp bought land in Maai Mahiu while others moved to Oljoro Orok in Nyandarua district.

Those from Keiyo, Marakwet and Nandi districts want the government to assure them of their security before returning to their farms. James Maina, who is reluctant to move back to his land in Cherangany, asked the government to assist them to sell their farms so that they can buy land in areas they consider safe.

Those who do not want to settle in their farms have put them up for sale but the prices have gone down, with an acre in Uasin Gishu District going at Sh160,000 down from Sh220,000. Others have opted to lease the land while they look for other means of generating income in the urban areas."It is better to lease the land and get some money instead of leaving it bare," said Samuel Kinyanjui, a farmer in Uasin Gishu. Peter Mogaka, who owns land in Eldoret East, said it is no longer profitable to settle and farm in the interior parts of the district.

No guarantee

"There is no guarantee that violence will not erupt come the next General Election," he said. The Sunday Nation has learnt that some of the IDPs have sold their farms and moved to "safer" areas while others have swapped their parcels with people in Nakuru and beyond.

In Trans Nzoia, IDPs in Kwanza and Geta farms want the government to allocate them land like their counterparts in Rongai. "The government should not apply double standards in the resettlement exercise. It is our right to be given land as pledged by the President," said Mercy Wanjiru, a mother of six. But majority of them are said to be squatters, small-scale traders and casual labourers displaced during the violence.