ORENGOS CARELESS TALK ON IDPS

Orengo under fire over utterances

Published on May 6, 2008, 12:00 am

By Moses Njagih

FOUR central Kenya MPs, among them a Cabinet minister, criticised Lands minister, Mr James Orengo, over his call for IDPs to be ejected from Rift Valley and resettled in other provinces.

The legislators, who included Gender and Children’s minister, Ms Esther Murugi, said Orengo’s utterances were careless and senseless.

Murugi , who is also the Nyeri Town MP, was backed by Mr Jeremiah Kioni, Mr Lenny Kivuti and Mr Francis Nyammo. They said displaced people had a right to return where they had been evicted. “We have to respect the right of everyone’s property. These people have their property in the Rift Valley,” said Murugi.

The minister, who on Sunday hosted the legislators at Nyeri’s Dedan Kimathi-Kamukunji Grounds for thanksgiving prayers following her appointment to Cabinet, said displaced people could not be forced out of their land.

“If anyone wants to acquire the IDPs land, they should buy it from them,” said the minister.

Kioni said Kenyans had been fed with propaganda that displaced people flushed out in the post-election skirmishes had illegally acquired their land in the Rift Valley.

Kivuti said Kenyans expected Orengo to be the last person to utter such sentiments due to his knowledge of the Constitution.