Governor Lee Kinyanjui seeks to heal 1992 clashes wounds with resettlement plan

Lee Kinyanjui

Nakuru County Governor Lee Kinyanjui.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

There’s a fresh ray of hope for 988 victims of the Enoosupukia ethnic violence after the Nakuru County government announced that it would vet them with a view to resettling them.

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui announced that verification would begin in a week, calling on those uprooted to provide their documents.

Mr Kinyanjui said the authentication would ensure the victims of the 1992 election violence are resettled after more than three decades.

Stanley Kinyua Kariuki, the chairman of the displaced group, welcomed the decision but called for the process to be expedited, saying waiting for 30 years has been agonising.

He revealed that he owned three acres, while his mother, who was also uprooted, had bought 15 acres before they were kicked out at the height of the violence.

“Many of the affected people have died and we call upon the county government to speed up the process,” said Mr Kariuki.

“What is quite unfortunate, though, is that the majority of those who bought land were never given title deeds and were only given agreement letters.”

Mr Kariuki regretted that a large number of people had lost court battles for lack of vital documents and their original parcels of land were occupied by new settlers.

In an interview with the Nation in February 2020, many of the victims poured their hearts out, saying they had been struggling to stay afloat.

A visit to the humble abodes of the displaced in the Maeilla area, on the outskirts of Naivasha, lays bare the harsh realities the ageing people are enduring.

Some held back tears, narrating their harrowing experiences at the hands of war-chanting armed attackers who speared to death their husbands and sons during the 1992 clashes.

At the height of the violence

Among them was 77-year-old Jane Waithera Kamau, who witnessed the macabre killing of her husband at the height of the violence.

"We were ambushed while trying to flee from the blood-bathed killing fields. My husband was not as lucky," she explained, tears cascading down her cheeks.

The septuagenarian had settled in the Chemi Chemi area during the reign of President Jomo Kenyatta after the couple secured work in the present-day Narok County.

As they adjusted to fate, Fr John Antony Kaiser proved to be their only source of hope, as he gave them food and inspired them to soldier on.

But the priest became a marked man after he criticised those behind the clashes. He was later to die in mysterious circumstances, crushing the hopes of the displaced group.

Mr Kariuki said they were now relying on Mr Kinyanjui’s promise to resettle them, saying they were ready for vetting.