Uasin Gishu chairman of Gospel Ministers Bishop Wilson Kurui wants the government to compensate people living in Mau forest before evicting them.
Speaking to the press in Eldoret town on Monday, Kurui said it's inhuman for the government to evict people from Mau forest without giving them alternative places to stay or money to buy land.
“As religious leaders from Uasin Gishu County, we are not happy with the way the Mau forest issue is being handled. How can people be evicted without compensation? Where do the government expect them to go after leaving the forest,” he said.
“If 2007 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were compensated and resettled why not the people of Mau who were legally living in the forest and in possession of title deeds?” added Bishop Kurui.
He also urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and solve the matter once and for all.
The Jesus is Alive Ministries leader further wondered how the government gave the residents title deeds yet they knew it was a water catchment area.
Bishop Kurui, however, warned politicians from the North Rift region against politicizing the matter saying it might incite people living in Mau forest thus leading to ethnic violence.
He said politicians need to discuss the matter with relevant authorities instead of inciting locals.
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