[Former Kitutu Masaba MP Timothy Bosire. He led Gachuba Ward residents in protesting the construction of a water dam in the area. Courtesy: The Star]
Former Kitutu Masaba MP Timothy Bosire has opposed the proposed construction of the Bonyunyu dam in Gachuba Ward.
Bosire joined area residents on Monday in demonstrations in an apparent protest to the Sh5bn water project that seeks to end perennial water shortage in Kisii town.
Residents argue that they were not properly consulted before its implementation, demanding that the feasibility study and environmental impact assessment reports made public.
In an interview with The Star Newspaper, the former lawmaker took issue with the government, accusing it of intimidating the residents to accept the project.
“The land where the project will be se up is not idle land. It is occupied and the people want to know their fate once they are displaced. This project must be resisted at all costs,” he said.
“The environmental issues must be addressed. A project of that magnitude cannot be done without people knowing how it will affect them. The people will be displaced yet nobody has come up to say where they are going to be settled," he added.
Nyamira County Commissioner Isaiah Nakoru has since held a meeting with local leaders, residents and officials from the Lake Victoria South Water Service Board in a move aimed at resolving the controversy surrounding the construction of the dam.