Bomet Senator Wilfred Lesan has criticised a section of Myoot Kipsigis Council of Elders for opposing the construction of Itare dam in Kuresoi North, Nakuru County.
Lesan said the elders do not have substantive reasons to block the Sh38 billion project.
“Why would one want people to believe that Itare River would dry up if that is not pure malice?” he asked.
The senator said it is wrong for the elders to move to court before exhausting other resolution mechanisms and urged them to withdraw the case.
“We are concerned that this could be a ploy by politicians opposed to Jubilee in the Rift Valley to portray us negatively as we head to the next election,” he said.
The council moved to court to stop the construction of the dam.
The elders claimed the dam would turn the area into an arid landscape. They claimed the area would experience acute water shortage, and agriculture would be adversely affected in the region.