IDPs' plan to meet Kibaki thwarted

By Antony GitongaNakuru County
Police in Naivasha thwarted an attempt by a group of displaced people from Jikaze camp in Mai Mahiu to march to State House to seek audience with President Kibaki.
The officers used teargas to stop the demonstration involving 200 IDPs along the Nairobi-Mai Mahiu road.Scores of the IDPs were injured during the melee, while others took refuge in Mutarakwa Forest to avoid arrest.
The incident caused a traffic snarl-up along the busy road before police ferried the IDPs, mainly the aged and young, back to the camp.
Women – some carrying small children on their backs – wailed, accusing the Government of doing nothing to end their suffering.
Mercy Njeri, an IDP at the camp, said hunger and unfilled promises were some of the reasons they were seeking audience with the President.
She said four years since they shifted to the camp in Mai Mahiu, their sufferings had not abated, as those who are supposed to address their plight continued to politick.
Empty promise"We have been promised resettlement but this has been merely an empty promise and we can no longer bear with it," said Njeri.
Another IDP, Ms Rose Wanjiku, said they wanted an audience with the President or Minister Esther Murugi to present their grievances.
"We are ready to die demanding our rights rather than starve to death in the camps waiting for empty promises," she said.
Naivasha deputy OCPD Paul Korir, who stopped the demo, termed it illegal, adding that it had disrupted traffic on the road.
He advised the IDPs to use other ways of having their complaints addressed than resorting to street protests, which he said inconvenienced motorists.
Last week, the IDPs issued the Government with a seven-day notice, saying they would demonstrate over hunger and the failed resettlement.