Naivasha Member of Parliament John Kihagi, has stepped in to calm the brewing conflict between the geothermal development company (GDC) and the Maasai community living at the Kedong ranch in Naivasha.
In a meeting attended by Maasai leaders on Monday morning at Naivasha town, Kihagi said that he will push GDC and the government to fully compensate the community before moving them out of the ranch.
“We respect the court’s directive, but we must also factor in the grievances of the community because you cannot just force them out of the land they have occupied for the last fifty years without giving them an alternative settlement. Even if the ranch belongs to government, GDC must find a way of resettling those being evicted without subjecting them to inhumane treatment,” said Kihagi.
The community’s secretary general and spokesman, Mike Roka echoed the MP’s sentiments, and said that they will only move out of the land if GDC compensates them fully.
“If the government compensated people who were evicted from the Mau Forest, then they must also compensate us and give us an alternative land, where do they expect us to go if we have not been given land? And we want our leaders to stop keeping quiet, they should come out and compel the government to compensate us,” said Roka.
On Friday last week, a high court sitting in Nakuru had issued orders directing the Maasai community to vacate the ranch to pave way for the exploration of geothermal power, a directive the community vowed to desist.