Over 800 families evicted from Mau Forest are now urging the government to urgently resettle them.

The families, camping around the forest, highlighted the challenges they face, which include lack of food, clothing and extreme weather conditions.

Led by Christine Tesot and Dorcas Chepkemoi, they noted their children have also dropped out of school due to abject poverty, and are now doing menial jobs in the area.

“We were illegally evicted from Mau Forest and we suffer a lot. We lack food and clothes. We ask a our leaders to help us. Please buy us food and a place to live,” said Tesot.

Speaking at Kasarani IDP camp, they pointed out that they lost all their property after the Kenya Forest Service razed down their homes.

Tesot also hit out at elected leaders from the area for reneging on their promises, a situation she says has left them hopeless.

Dorcas Chepkemoi on her part observed that they have nowhere else to go, adding that most of them are suffering from various diseases, some occasioned by poor sanitation and extreme weather conditions, with children and the elderly being the most affected.

“We have known this place as our home over the years and we have nowhere else to go. Some of us suffer from pneumonia, typhoid and other diseases. We have no medicines and hospitals are far away. Children and the elderly are the most affected by these diseases,” said Chepkemoi.

The families were evicted from the forest in 2018 as the government scaled up conservation of the water tower.

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