Barely a week after the government stopped the Mau evictions to allow for school going children to proceed with their education,Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko has said that the removal of Mau settlers is unstoppable.
The CS said the experts reports indicate that the massive destruction done at the forest has costed the government billions of shillings in loses and added that time was nigh to get the forest back.
“I did the right thing by taking action. We have allowed the destruction to go on an abated. Experts have done there own analysis and the scientific reports says we lose Sh3.5-4 billions every year as a result of the destruction.Time is now or never,” said CS Tobiko.
CS Tobiko further added that the settlers will not be given any compensation saying the title deeds they acquired are all illegal.
The statements by Tobiko comes at the backdrop of ongoing calls, majorly from Rift Valley MPs, who have termed the eviction illegal.
Early this month, Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen accused CS Tobiko of insubordination by carrying out an exercise which had no cabinet approval.
Kapseret Member of Parliament also agreed with Murkomen’s accusations saying: ““I want Tobiko to come out and declare when the cabinet approved the eviction, who and who sat in that meeting that decided to get the settlers out of their land…Let him come out and say who approved that.”
The second phase of eviction began on September 2 but stopped a day later in favor of school going children.
The government is keen on forcing over 60,000 people out of the Mau forestland to recover 17,000 hectares of land.
The first phase saw over 10,000 families evicted.