We've been hearing it from the elected officials in north and central rift-they want the IDPs put of their ancestral land'.The word has been passed on from one generation to another;their land was taken away unjustly!
How do we move on from here?
My answer is we have to be realistic about this violence-we can and should resettle these guys back to sustainable communities; in other words where they can be able to band together and hold on their own until help arrives in case of another outbreak (which we have been promised by the rift valley leaders anyway) for we know now govt will not always be there for us.
Where the IDPs are moved from;the land in question has to revert back to the govt.Ethnic cleansers must not directly benefit from this land by owning it! It should rather be used by the govt to help the community through establishment of educational,agricultural and health institutions.
In other words am calling for critical mass population resettlement schemes.It must be planned with the future in mind. Power will not always be in friendly governments so careful and foresightedness is indeed needed now for we do not know what future holds for us in this kenya!!
Solve land issue first, insist MPs

Molo: the land question answered.

This land, just like most of the land currently occupied by the Southern Kikuyu was occupied by the Dorobos by the year 1875. Very few if any Kalenjin existed in the land save for the Dorobos who are sometimes identified as Kalenjin, a misnomer. The very first settlers had already identified Molo as a potentially highly productive area and settlement there began when it was still part of Uganda protectorate. Naturally, they took with them Kikuyu as farmhands since they were already farmers, unlike Kambas (hunters/gatherers cum farmers), Kalenjin and Maasai (mostly pastoralists. Some Kikuyus went on their own accord to look for money to pay taxes.

By 1900, there were basically 5 classes of people living in the Molo highlands.

1. The settlers who had very little trouble acquiring the land since most of it was unoccupied.

2. Their Kikuyu farmhands who had started living in camps/parcels inside the settler farms.

3. Gazetted forest land, deemed unoccupied.

4. The Kalenjin living in communal lands in lands separate from settler farms.

5. Dorobos, Kikuyus and Kalenjin squatters living in forest lands. These were to suffer several bouts of evictions, starting from pre-colonial times and continuing upto last month.

So, the presumption that the volatile Molo region has all along been occupied by a single tribe, the rest being ferried in lorries by Kenyatta and Kibaki, is wrong. Question answered.

those rift valley leaders opposed to the resettlement of IDP's should be carefully investigated for their role in the post election violence. if found guilty they should be severely punished as required by the law.

also their request should be denied with the contempt it deserve.

My take is this whole drama scene by the kalenjin MPs from the RV is about getting the post election killers released without conditions attached. It was clear the IDP situation would be hijacked sooner or later. I agree with Beste the government must stand firm and prosecute all those who broke the law. As long as Martha Karua has a say I believe it will happen. Ngii Ndune, you raise a very good point, this land situation has to be addressed in the very near future, and the solution has to be permanent. The future leaders of Kenya are unknown, and it appears there is significant hate aimed at a specific group of people.

Imagine every time there is chaos, guys come together and plead to be forgiven coz if they are not, the situation would explode.

Thats called impunity. Forgiving them will hurt the people they killed/robbed/burnt. Jailing them will hurt them and only them.

Lets address the historical injustices and return this land to original owners-plain rubbish! These guys needs a history lesson too!
The name "Eldoret" is based on the Maasai word "eldore" meaning "stony river" [2] because the bed of the nearby Sosiani River is very stony. A "t" was added to make it sound like a Nandi word. At start of the colonial era, the area was occupied by the Nandi, before that by the Maasai and before that the Sirikwa.
"Uasin gishu" is derived from maasai word "uasinkishu" one of the twelve geographic sectors of the tribe, each one having its own customs, appearance, leadership and dialects. These subdivisions are known as the Keekonyokie, Damat, Purko, Wuasinkishu, Siria, Laitayiok, Loitai, Kisonko, Matapato, Dalalekutuk, Loodokolani and Kaputiei.

I see it as more of a political issue than than a land question. I tend to think the animosity is fuelled by politicians trying to whip up tribal sympathy to win votes. (Some like Samoei are known to have promised to evict "outsiders" for his tribemen to have more land.) Hence you see tribal violence every election time.
The relative prosperity of Kikuyu farmers in the RV has also been a problem with the political leadrship. Look at what was done to KFA and the objective of formation of KGGCU.

All that said and done I believe the constitution of kenya protects private property. The right to quiet enjoyment of their legally acquired property is non negotiable. I do not see where the MPs come in they should be subject of investigation. This animosity is concieved and financed by politicians and their side kicks in their quest for power.
It should be known that a kenyan has a right to live and own property in anywhere in the republic and this right is inherent and in alienable.Fullstop.

There should be no negotiations with child Murderers,killers of women and thieves. Security for every citizen must be guaranteed by the state. I say what are we paying taxes for, to me the continued plight of IDPs represents failure by the goverment. It is disguting, really disgusting that that any kenyan should spend one more night in the cold while those sleeping in Muthaiga discuss his fate. There is no end to where they will take us these politicians. May God bless our country Kenya,may His grace be on every one of us and may he help us to obey His greatest commadment " Love thy neigbour...." Amen.

Well said. The so-called land question is nothing but hogwash!

There should be not negotiations whatsoever with anyone thief, looter, and murderers of the innocent - which is what these 'leaders' are. To claim that healing "will start" once the murderers of the innocent are released - as Kipkalia Kones claimed recently at a peace rally - is plain absurdity.

There must be justice for those lying silent in the fields; those whose blood cries out from the land that their sweat granted them.

Am an IDP now leaving in Nairobi and calling on my dear AGIKUYU to wake up to the reality of what is happening to the community!

Our fore fathers fought the white man not just for the land but for RESPECT AND INTERGRITY! We have been trampled on worse than Animals can be treated.Our so called leaders are not match to Raila and a political novice like Ruto.We have a leadership Vaccum!!

Andu Aitu,where on earth besides Kenya of Mwai Kibaki can someone chase you out of your home with pangas and other forms of crude weapons, burn it,help themselves on whatever crop or items there is and walk away on the watch of the police?

After all that abuse,when you decide to go back to your small farm,your told No way! until we sit down to discuss why i killed your mother,child or husband?

It is true that there is a leadership vaccum in the community after our dear Hero Ken Matiba who should have been the president today had it not been for some traitor!

I am urging you wherever you are,for the community to regain its respect,we must teach the Bullies a Grand lesson on RESPECT.The Maumau blood is in us and its our duty to protect the Dignity of our Mothers and Children at whatever cost!!

We must never sit down to negotiate for ownership of our Land that we bought using hard earned income with anyone!

Talk about peace after they get a Test our strength also.

Ukerai Adu aitu!!

Kikuyu lib, Am one of those who are on same frequency with you.There are some of us who having been insulated from the pain by their homes being tucked deep inside central province,western educated and abroad feel that we should really understand as you clearly put "why they killed our mothers,children young and the old while looting and plundering individually owned property." I want you to know there are some of us who are acting even being abroad,educated and tucked deep inside central province.Your pain is ours,your tears are shared,your cause is a righteous one and we are aboard,you will never walk alone!

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Kikuyi lib

I get you, the issue of negotiating with Thieves and murderers should never arise.

I wish to point out that our own president made a big blunder by agreeing to Raila’s demands. Raila and Ruto are both the main architectures of the displaced folks. They are running around still finding ways to steal from Kenyans and cause more problems for those who are already suffering. We need to develop a strategy to counter the ODM media attacks on our communities. The people we have elected are too selfish to worry about a common mwanainchi. We have to change things if we are interested in seeing a different future. My proposal is first to encourage Kibaki to retire early and Let Uhuru or Kalonzo take over for a short period of time. This will necessitate some drastic changes and force ODM to understand who is in charge of the government. PNU should not be scared of Raila. There were very few Luos in the MAUMAU movement, they only act in large groups but if you corner one, they normally pass out in a heart beat. Where is our fighting spirit? How can we allow Raila and Ruto to run the show while we watch? Someone please talk to Kibaki. At 77 years, his brain is not functioning well and we need a leader now not tomorrow... Kikuyi lib, never give up

quote:

Originally posted by Shaban:
The people we have elected are too selfish to worry about a common mwanainchi. We have to change things if we are interested in seeing a different future. My proposal is first to encourage Kibaki to retire early and Let Uhuru or Kalonzo take over for a short period of time.

I think we are doing too little too late and that is why we never get to the root of the problem, which is 'eating chiefs mentality'. All the guys you have mentioned are dyed in the wool with this mentallity as it is with all ex Moi's KANU. We cannot entrust our future on them.

We need new blood, completly untainted and unconnected to the politicians who put us in the ditch. Nothing short of a complete setting aside of the current leadeship. A revo.......?
Our country has to find a reference point as a Nation

lets not talk about the land question, it is the land answer and it is very simple

nobody in kenya is in their ancestral land according to migration history, bantus came from congo forrest the nilotes came from upper sudan i believe you all know history so those who are saying about their ancestral land being occuppied by foreigners should also go back to their land in sudan and this place might be dafur then we will go back to congo

I agree with Muhuthia, Kenya needs new leaders. What we have is recycled, rotten leaders who will take us nowhere! This soul-less bunch are collecting huge wages, at the expense of taxpayers'. If they had any mercy or sense of decency they would have challenged the huge cabinet, and they would have taken paycuts! This would have shown some level of concern for their country and their fellow countrymen, but they didn't, they would rather live in luxury and watch their countrymen decline into unbelieveable levels of poverty. Again, Kenya needs new leaders! And NO, those new leaders are NOT Raila, and his ODM hooligans. These fools have no leadership skills or even the potential to be leaders. Their strategy of leadership is divide the country along tribal lines, hate mongering to highest degree, someone tell us anywhere in the world where this strategy has worked? We need clean, fresh blood!

I also agree with Komu, this talk about ancestral land is extemely primitive, and should be ingored. How is it that I can own a home abroad, without harassement? Yet, my fellow kikuyus are being told they are foreigners in the Rift Valley? Primitive, hogwash that is counterproductive to the development of Kenya as a country, and counterproductive to the advancement of kenyans as a people.

The beginning of settling the land issue is prosecuting the perpertrators of the post election violence to the fullest extent of the law, and without mercy! There must be a deterent to crime, and criminals must be brought to justice. Otherwise we are just spinning wheels, while the IDPs continue to be homeless in their homeland! The situation is pathectic at best, and to me is a sign that Kenya may be headed into being in the category of failed states! We must look at the facts and set our emotions aside in order to be objective. Just my humble opnion!

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