Michuki on Mau

Environment minister John Michuki has reiterated that the government will not compensate the political elites who own huge chunks of land at the Mau Forest Complex.

The minister said influential politicians who were demanding compensation should instead pay the government for stealing from the public.

Michuki while addressing the press in his Kangema constituency termed the invasion of Mau forest as misuse of power and outright breaking of the law by the ruling regime that was at the helm of power when the forest was raped.

"You cannot invade your neighbour's property and expect that the same neighbour would have to persuade you to get out of his property by compensating you," said Michuki.

Meanwhile, two Legislators have praised the move by the Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta of denying any form of compensation to owners of huge tracts of land in the Mau forest complex.

Legislators, Johnston Muthama of Kangundo, and his Kibwezi counterpart, Philip Kaloki, said it would have been unfair for the Mau evictees to be compensated while those in Aberdares and Kyulu Hills have never been compensated adding that the encroachers had illegally possessed the land.

Muthama said no evictees should be compensated since those evicted from the Aberdare forests, Mt. Kenya, Cheranganyi Hills, Mt.Elgon forests and also some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who lost their lands after the post -election skirmishes have never been compensated.

His sentiments were echoed by Kaloki who said that those evicted from the Kyulu Hills so as to conserve the water catchments area were never compensated by the government.

The duo had accompanied their Mathira counterpart, Engineer Ephraim Maina, to his mother- in- law's burial at Kibirigwi in Kirinyaga district on Tuesday.