Former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto now claims the planned evictions of squatters from the Mau Forest has nothing to do with conservation but politics.
Ruto, the Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) party leader, claimed the estimated 10,000 families earmarked for eviction were mainly from the Kipsigis community and were being treated as 'outsiders' and political threat by the local leadership.
The families are accused of illegally settling in a forest land which falls within the boundaries of Narok County.
Ruto said the high population of Kipsigis in the area made it possible for them to snatch Emurua Dikirr parliamentary seat from the dominant Maasai community and that is why Narok politicians were piling pressure for their flushing out.
“Considering their birthrate, soon they will outnumber the locals. What this means is that they could win over one or two more seats in 2022, and perhaps, the big post of governor in 2027."
"These are the stuck realities that are behind the political tensions in the Mau evictions,” he said Ruto on Thursday.
However, Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina dismissed the claims, saying the CCM boss was endearing himself to voters from his community over 2022 politics and beyond.
“Isaac Ruto is still keen at recapturing the governor’s seat in Bomet or taking over as the political kingpin of the Kalenjin, in the event his namesake (DP William Ruto) falters in his quest for the presidency,” Kina said.