Mai Mahiu dam tragedy victims face eviction from rental houses

 

The Maai Mahiu landslide tragedy

Victims of the Mai Mahiu dam tragedy in Naivasha are facing evictions from their rental houses after the government failed to keep its promise of paying the rent or resettling them.

Three months after the tragedy that left over 60 dead, scores injured and property worth millions destroyed, the victims have continued to languish in poverty and sickness.

This came as it emerged that the planned Ksh350m resettlement plan by the government for over 100 families had collapsed after the President rejected the Finance Bill 2024.

According to the area MCA Eliud Kamau, majority of the victims had been living in rental houses in Mai Mahiu town after well-wishers agreed to pay rent for three months.

He said that the three months had expired leaving the victims between a hard place and a rock as the State had gone mute on the planned resettlement.

“The national government has never released any single coin towards the resettlement and now majority of these victims are facing eviction from their rental houses,” he said.

The MCA added that the victims who included small-scale traders lost all their personal effects and had not recovered while others were still nursing injuries in their houses.

A victim, Maureen Njeri said that she had been kicked out of her house for failing to pay her rent and called on the President to intervene.

“We were told that we would be resettled three months ago but this has never materialized and we have continued to suffer every day,” she said.

This was echoed by another victim Julius Mungai who accused the government of ignoring their plight and failing to keep its promise.

“Many of us were small scale traders and all our goods were swept away and we are faced with eviction due to failure to pay rent,” he said.

John Kinuthia admitted that failure to enact into law the Finance Bill had affected their resettlement adding that they were hopeful that the Government would keep its promise.

“Many of us were hawkers and we had to start from scratch after the tragedy and we have undergone untold suffering as we wait for the planned resettlement,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Naivasha MP Jane Kihara noted that the planned resettlement hangs in the balance after the finance bill was rejected.

“The government had set aside Ksh350m for the resettlement and this was under the Finance Bill that unfortunately was rejected,” he said.

BY KBC NEWS