Panic has gripped residents of Chetambe hills in Webuye East, Bungoma county after the government gazetted the area as a public forest.

Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya gazetted again the area after her former colleague Keriako Tobiko de-gazetted it in 2022.

The over 30,000 families living in the area will now be evicted. The residents led by nominated MCA Metrine Nangalama say the families have nowhere to go if evicted.

“We want our leaders to intervene because we have nowhere to go if evicted,” she lamented. However, area MP Martin Wanyonyi has dismissed the gazette notice saying there was no government forest land in Chetambe/Webuye. 

“The Cabinet Secretary for environment was misadvised to gazette Muji/Ndivisi land as government forest area,” he said. Wanyonyi said the government does not own Chetambe Hills’ land and if it wants it, then it should compensate the owners. “

The government will only acquire land if it fully compensates the owners,” assured the MP. He assured residents that National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula had engaged over the matter.