A Nyamira MCA has come under sharp criticism from a section of Riamoni residents following an eviction notice which was served to the residents to allow a local contractor to excavate murram for road repair in the region.
The piece of land believed to be belonging to the government has been occupied by at least twenty homesteads that have also been making a living from it through excavation of sand and selling to construction companies.
On Monday, the affected families protested against the eviction and accused Gesima ward representative Ken Atuti of allegedly being behind their woes.
According to them, those responsible for their eviction did not follow the law by serving them with a late notice besides working in earnest with a private local company.
“These evictions are unlawful because we should have been given a notice early enough. Again, it is not a public contractor that will be excavating the sand for road repair because we have seen a private company doing it. The private company should buy its own murram from elsewhere,” said Peter Kemoni on behalf of disgruntled residents.
They accused Atuti of colluding with the local contractors to defraud the county government millions of shillings awarded for the construction of feeder roads across the ward.
“The MCA is not sincere. He is working with the contractor to save money that should have been used to buy murram by the contractor,” he added.
Atuti who spoke on phone distanced himself from the allegations but maintained it was the responsibility of the government to use its land for whatever purpose that is productive.
“Well, I don’t know why they are accusing me because it is the county working on the roads. Whether they are evicted or not, I just want to see good roads, after all they had occupied government land,” he said.