Legislator protests eviction of families from scheme

By OSINDE OBARE

Kapenguria legislator Samuel Moroto has threatened to move to court to contest the eviction of 21,000 families from the 300-acre land at Chepchoina settlement scheme in Trans-Nzoia County.

He protested the displacement of the families after the Government nullified a third phase of allocations and ordered for fresh distribution of the land.

The Kanu regime hived several acres of land from Chepchoina ADC farm and distributed it to members of the Turkana and Pokot communities in the area.

Families evicted from the scheme have staged several demonstrations since last year claiming that 250 Ugandans had been resettled on the land. The claim has, however, been denied by Kwanza District Commissioner Gabriel Risie.

During a recent demonstration, the evictees alleged that two District Commissioners and close cronies of a former minister were beneficiaries of the fresh allocations. The evictees led by James Kaburu, waving allotment letters issued by Agricultural Development Cooperation in 1998, accused the resettlement committee led by Mr Risie of illegal eviction.

 “Government officials and politicians ganged up to steal the land we were legally allocated. They have dished them out to relatives and undeserving people,” complained Ms Margaret Aule.

On Monday, Mr Moroto toured the area and held a meeting with displaced members of Turkana and Pokot communities. Addressing the families, Moroto asked the Government to probe the alleged irregularities in the distribution of land to end a brewing tension.

“It is wrong for the Government to evict people from land they legally acquired from the previous legitimate regime. We are going to seek legal redress if the Government fails to cancel the fresh allocation,” warned Moroto.