NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 2 – Former President Daniel arap Moi has exonerated himself from blame over the settlement of people in the Mau forest.
He also declined to say whether he was among those who owned property or huge chunks of land in the forest.
He instead appeared to be passing the blame to other government officials who worked under him, and during the reign of President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
“We should ask ourselves when those people started flocking into that forest” said the former President.
He has also opposed the eviction of people from the Mau Complex, terming it inhumane.
The former President also says the current drought ravaging many parts of the country was not as a result of the destruction of Mau forest.
He however equally hit out at a section of Rift Valley MPs who went to visit the evictees camping by the roadsides in the area and who used the opportunity to hit out at Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
“They were recently in there (in Mau) making noise yet they do not even know when those people started entering the forest,” he added.
Speaking to the press at his Kabarnet Gardens residence in Nairobi, the retired President said those making noise over Mau “were acting in futility.”
He said he supports efforts to conserve the environment but that such should be conducted in a “humane and organised manner”.
He said environmental conservation issues should not be used for political expedience and that it was disheartening that the Mau eviction had taken such an angle.
While admitting that he was also personally concerned at the prolonged drought facing the country, the former President Moi however insisted that he did not think Mau was the cause of all the problems.
“I have actually never seen such prolonged drought in our country all my lifetime. But many other water sources and pans in the country are facing problems and I do not think it is because of only Mau. Lake Nakuru is drying up yet nobody is talking about that,” he added.
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