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{
    "id": 946123,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/946123/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 165,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Emurua Dikirr, KANU",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kipyegon Ngeno",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1453,
        "legal_name": "Johana Ngeno Kipyegon",
        "slug": "johana-ngeno-kipyegon"
    },
    "content": "down and resort to farming instead of collecting honey. That can only be done through de- gazettement of some forest land, approval of which should emanate from this House. I have seen many de-gazettement notices dating back to the Independence Government of President Jomo Kenyatta. The former President de-gazetted so much forest land, including part of the Mau Forest. Sometimes when we talk about Mau Forest, people should understand that the current people who live there are not the first ones, neither are they going to be the last ones. Molo, Elburgon and all those settlements in Nakuru were part of the Mau Forest. So, it always happens when there is need to settle people. I support this Motion because the people of Chebyuk or Chepkitale, whichever name they are known by, can finally settle down. There was a time when there was serious conflict in that particular area. The people had formed some kind of a militia gang called the Sabot Land Defence Force (SLDF), which concerned land. Land issues have always been emotive. Remember we have had several land clashes in the name of post- election violence. In 1992, 1997 and 2007 people used the general elections to fight, but the real cause of all that fighting has always been land. Land issues are very emotive. So, when people like those who live in Mount Elgon opt to request the Government to de-gazette that particular area for settlement, it is not for no reason. It is because those people want to live in peace like other Kenyans. Remember the drafters of the Constitution made a recommendation that every Kenyan has a right to shelter and a good piece of land. That is why I support one of the Members who belongs to the Departmental Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources. The Government should do what we call profiling and audit across the country, so that we can know how many Kenyans are landless, how many Kenyans live as squatters and how many Kenyans live in trust land yet they do not own title deeds. In this age and era, our Government should not be entertaining anybody living as a squatter or in slums. We are a developing nation. We have a lot of land and resources where we should settle our people who are living in slums. It is a great shame. We are trying to move towards being a developed nation and yet we cannot settle simple matters. I support this Motion because it has to be a lesson for all those cabinet secretaries who are serving this nation. One side of your mouth should not speak one thing while the other speaks another. We are discussing a Petition by the Executive to degazette Mt. Elgon Forest for settlement. On the other hand, it is the same Cabinet making a lot of noise that no one else should even be imagined to settle anywhere. We need to be serious and serve this nation correctly. I wish the Cabinet Secretaries for the Ministries of Environment and Forestry and Lands revisit the Mau issue after finishing with this Mt. Elgon issue. I support the Member for Kipkelion who initiated the idea that proper audit should be done. I wish the Ministries of Environment and Forestry and Lands do a serious audit, especially on the Mau, so that we can know where the gazetted Mau Forest is. Where is the gazetted trust land? Where is the community land? Whenever we try to chase people out of a settlement, we should know whether the people are living in the Mau, gazetted forest or in trust lands. There is a report I read on declaration of an adjudication done in one of the trust lands in Narok in 1975 by the Office of the then President Jomo Kenyatta. It allowed people to settle in those areas. Today, we are discussing this matter and thinking that, that area is a forest. Today, we are demanding that the people in those settlement schemes move out yet there are Government agents, including chiefs, who serve those areas. There are schools which have been built. There are Teachers Service Commission (TSC) teachers who have been sent there. There are people who are earning salaries from the Government in those particular areas. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}