NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 29 – Former President Moi’s son Gideon, and two current MPs are among beneficiaries of the controversial Mau Forest land, according to a list tabled in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
The list tabled by Prime Minister Raila Odinga also shows that a former State House Comptroller John Lokorio was also among those who got more than 20 hectares of land in the water catchment area.
Gideon is listed as having got 44.74ha while Mr Mwaita got 23.50ha and Mr Cheruiyot 1,955ha.
The PM was put under pressure by MPs to explain what measures the government planned to take to reclaim and rehabilitate the country’s largest water tower.
It was after a sustained effort by Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale that the Prime Minister tabled the list, after initially declining to do so arguing that the Mau Taskforce Report in which the names are contained, would be taken to Parliament after getting Cabinet approval.
"Can the Prime Minister table the list of the group of people that are said to own land in the Mau as we await for the Taskforce report that he mentioned," Mr Khalwale charged amid chants from MPs of toboa! toboa! (spill the beans).
The list contains the names of 15 people and companies that benefited from 126 plots which had been annexed from the gazetted forest in Nakuru and Narok districts respectively.
Later, Mr Mwaita told Capital News that he no longer owned any part of the land as he had surrendered it for sub division and settlement to squatters.
During the debate, Mr Odinga clashed with MPs from the North Rift who have been attacking his stand over the relocation of the settlers in Mau.
But Mr Odinga said that he has ready to sacrifice his political future for the sake of saving Kenya’s largest water tower.
He told parliament that the eviction of the settlers of the Mau forest was a top priority for the government and that a report of the Taskforce to be discussed at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting wwould be implemented immediately.
"I want to inform the honourable members that I will not be intimidated I will not be blackmailed because of what am doing. I know I’m doing it for the best interest of this nation and I want to say that I am prepared to pay the political price," he said
Mr Odinga was responding to a question in which Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo wanted the PM to state when the government will act on the Mau saga.
Members of Parliament demanded that the government moves to evict the settlers immediately without further delay.
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