Forest rangers arrive in Mau forest in readiness to relocate settlers in Mau Forest Complex. (Photo Courtesy George Sayagie)

Nairobi — When Rose Mibei, 35, and her husband sold her one-acre plot in Bomet in 2000 and bought three acres in Mau Forest, she thought she had struck gold. Little did she know that she was opening a dark chapter in her life.

"Our house and other property have been burnt twice and all the time we start from scratch. It has been nine difficult years for me and my family," she told the Nation at her farm near Sierra Leone, which bore the brunt of the July 2005 evictions.

Ms Mibei said she had nowhere to go, adding that her three children would suffer if she was evicted. With the eviction, she said, it would be double tragedy for her as her crop failed due to drought. A survey by the Nation shows that most of the farms have been tilled in preparation to plant maize, the staple food in the area. Some farmers also had potatoes and beans on their farms.

The story of Ms Mibei is just one of the many coming out of Mau. As the politicians feud over the controversial water tower, the voices of the victims have been buried in the din. Now they are speaking out, demanding a say in this life and death issue.

Mr Thomas Tuei, a resident of Simboyon, another area earmarked for eviction, said they got into Mau to buy land and not to encroach on the forest.

Always shocked

"We are always shocked and disturbed to hear we are squatters. Before we bought the land we did a thorough check at the Lands ministry to avoid being cheated. We bought the farms after we found out that the parcels had title deeds," he said.

He added: "We are not refusing to go, but we cannot accept to move out without compensation because we bought the farms legally. If the government has realised the area is a critical water tower, there is no problem. Let them come and explain to us. They can settle us somewhere else. But now we are living in fear. We fear being forcefully evicted again. If we leave, who do we leave our crops to?"

Mrs Agnes Towett, 46, who has seven acres in the forest, said she moved into the Mau with her family in the 1970s. "We know nowhere else and we have no future. We want this issue settled once and for all so that we can pick up the pieces and move on," she said.

Mrs Towett said she did not see the difference between internally displaced persons and themselves yet they did not get food donations whenever there was famine. Mr Simeon Ruto, 61, said there was need to differentiate between Maasai Mau and gazetted forest land.

He said it was "insincere for some leaders to say we had encroached on the forest yet it was they who sold us the land, complete with title deeds". He said they bought their farms from people who had been allocated land by the Narok county council. It was properly allocated, complete with minutes approving the adjudication of the land. "We know them; they are 14 Maasai elders and 42 Ogiek elders," he said.

Need for dialogue

Mr Kipteigok Chumo, a spokesman for the 2005 evicted families, said there was need for dialogue on the issue between government and the affected people for an amicable solution to be reached. "We are also human, we can understand each other. This is more fruitful than giving orders from an ivory tower," he said.

Mr Chumo put the figure of those living in the Maasai Mau alone at 30,000 families, saying all of them should be compensated. Mr Joel Soo, 56, a father of nine, said: "We are tired of evictions, threats of eviction, and endless anxiety and we want an end to our suffering."