The government yesterday expressed fresh fears over Mau Forest as more squatters, loggers invade the complex destroying over 23,000 hectares of forest.

Rift Valley Regional Commissioner (RC) Abdi Hassan said the fresh encroachment has seen half of the 46,000 hectares of the water tower depleted after eviction of illegal settlers in 2019.

“More settlements have sprung up after the eviction of settlers and logging is going on in the Forest, the largest water tower in East Africa,” said Hassan.

Hassan’s announcement comes after Opposition leader Raila Odinga and former Narok North MP Moitalel ole Kenta expressed worry that the William Ruto administration is not keen on protecting forests and the general environment.

In his latest tour of Narok early this month, Raila warned that since the Kenya Kwanza administration took over office, more settlements have sprung up around the Mau Complex and unhindered logging continued.

During a press briefing at the County Commissioner’s office in Narok town, Hassan seemed to confirm the claims and pointed fingers at government officers for abetting illegal forest activities by colluding with forest industry players in exchange of bribes.

Illegal activities

“Officers within the service are indulging in corrupt deals with some industry players by allowing illegal activities in the forest,” said Hassan.

He put State officers mandated to protect the Maasai Mau forest in Narok county on notice, accusing them of colluding with the encroachers who cut down trees under their watch to open up farming land, thus threatening the existence of the mega water catchment land.

“The key thing that has contributed to the destruction of the forest land is the laziness, corruption and lack of accountability in the civil service. Already, we have started investigations so that we can bring to book all civil servants who did not play their role well, leading to the destruction of the forest,” he said. The encroached land, he said, is half of the forest land, as the total forest area is 46,000 hectares.

The RC, who spoke to journalists after touring parts of the forest land and holding a meeting with top security officers from Narok and Nakuru counties, cited the Schawan and Nkaretta areas in Narok North sub county as the most affected areas.

Vacate forest

Among the State agencies mandated to protect the forest are the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), County Rangers, Kenya Water Towers Agency and the Office of the County Commissioner.

He directed all those farming on the forest land to vacate the forest with immediate effect, failing which they will be arrested and charged in court.

“I am shocked because no wild animals can be seen in the forest land because of the human activities inside there. We will not condone this bad habit. The human activities inside the forest land should end forthwith,” he said.

Hassan reiterated that the Kenya Kwanza government will resolve the issue surrounding the Mau Forest once and for all, warning politicians against politicising the natural resource that is a source of livelihood for many people.

“I will personally preside over the evictions in the Mau Forest. This is not the government that only talks but also takes action. We will ensure that we secure, recover and restore the Mau forest immediately,” he said.

Electric fence

The Ogiek community that lives in the forest land was also warned against engaging in businesses that destroy the forest, failing which they risk being thrown out of the forest.

In 2018/2019, the government evicted more than 35,000 people from the forest land in the Sierra Leone and Nkoben areas of Narok South sub-county.

In its efforts to protect the forest land, the government, through Kenya Water Towers Agency, put up a 30-kilometre electric fence in the Nkoben and Sierra Leone parts of the forest.

Among those present were Nakuru County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo, Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde, and a host of County Executive Committee members.