|
Daily Nation
News Spotlight
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Row over Mau Forest ownership
By WAHOME THUKU
|
|
|
White-podo
beams confiscated from the Mau Forest last week lie at
the Narok County Council yard.
Photo by Wahome Thuku
|
Huge parts of Mau Forest
could soon be destroyed owing to disagreement on who owns the
gazetted land.
Narok residents say they
own part of it while the county council insists all of it is
gazetted and out of bounds to unauthorised individuals.
Hundreds of families
have built houses in the forest and claim they were given the land
by a former MP. They are also harvesting timber with abandon and
selling it to dealers.
But the council is
cracking down on illegal logging, a move that has provoked dissent
and resistance from the locals, who claim they have a right to cut
down trees for domestic and other uses.
"The only reason
why this forest has not been cleared completely is because the
roads are bad and ferrying the beams takes a lot of time,"
says Mr Charles Saina Sena, a lawyer.
The dispute, which first
came to light last December, has split the councillors some of
whom are backing the residents, while others insist they should be
kept off the forest.
Cllr David Setek of
Olokurto Ward has come out publicly in support of the people,
insisting that by harvesting what they own, they are engaged in
legal business.
But the council clerk,
Mr Stanislas Ondimu, maintains that the logging is illegal and
will have to be stopped.
Last week, 10 people
were arrested in the forest and at least five machines and
tractors impounded in an operation headed by the council's chief
forester, Mr Davis ole Tamooh.
Hundreds of indigenous
white podo beams were seized and stored at the council yard.
During the swoop, more
than 100 men confronted the council team in the forest, warning of
violence if the harassment did not stop.
As the controversy rages,
destruction has been going on in Mulat, Olulunga and Olokurto
areas.
The encroachment has
also opened up virgin water catchment areas, reducing water levels
in Mara, Narok and Ewaso Nyiro rivers.
The problem dates back
to 1974 when part of the forest was demarcated by influential
leaders and allocated to the people.
Some of the
beneficiaries in the East and West ends include former permanent
secretaries, Cabinet ministers, Kanu officials and other power
brokers.
Mr Tamooh says most of
the beneficiaries used fake title deeds and other documents to
acquire the land.
In one case, a person
was allocated 834 acres but his title deed reads thousands of
acres, says the official. At least 20,000 acres on the Olmegenyu
side had been turned into homes.
Mr James ole Sadera
claims his land is part of the forest and is inhabited by more
than 2,000 families.
Mr Mereu ole Setek said:
"We are four children in our family and all of us were born
and brought up here. We know this as our land."
None of them have title
deeds to support the claim.
A senior council
administrator, Mr Stephen Koriata, maintains that all the land
under trees is council forest and that the distinction between
arable land and the gazetted area is clear.
"We know these
boundaries and even the official records are very clear on the
demarcations," he says.
Mr Tamooh blames the
conflict on the former Government, saying: "The residents
feel cheated and justified to move into the remaining forest and
grab it in the fear that all their wealth might be taken away."
He claimed Government
officials were seen issuing land documents on Christmas Day last
year.
Illegally harvested logs
have a ready market in cartels that are buying them and shipping
them out of the district for bigger profits.
The council says the
beams are ferried out of the forest at night through Olenguruoni
area in Molo, from where they are taken to Nakuru and Mombasa.
"We suspect the
final destination for this wood is Saudi Arabia," said Mr
Ondimu.
A buyer told journalists
he sells the beams to private companies and timber yards in
Nairobi.
"I have been buying
timber from the owners since 1998," says the dealer, who was
released on bond last week after being charged with illegal
logging.
He says he had a permit
from the District Commissioner to transport timber, but he could
not produce it.
The DC's office issues
permits to farmers to cut down trees and clear land for
cultivation, but the dealers use them to engage in illegal
logging.
The DC, Mr Opuko Odino,
says the council is in charge of the forest and that the
provincial administration could only get involved if asked to.
The locals claim they
are only harvesting the trees and that they are not destroying
forests.
But the logging only
targets mature white podo, now threatened with extinction.
Mr Ondimu says the law
has little support for the council's war on illegal logging.
"The council
forests are not accommodated in the Forests Act and by that
omission, it becomes very difficult to sustain a case against
those arrested," he said. "Once we take these people to
court, they easily find their way out and go back to destroy the
forests."
Cllr Setek denies the
issue has split the council, and calls for the drawing up of clear
boundaries between the forest and private land to end the dispute.
"All we want is to
ensure that the people get what is theirs and the council its dues.
There are three boundaries, one on the records, another on the
ground and one that was created after the demarcation by
politicians and all of them must be considered," he says.
He argues that the
council can only justify its case if it states which of these
boundaries are genuine and which ones are not.
In its action plan, the
council has passed a resolution to start communal tree nurseries
to rehabilitate the forest.
Mr Tamooh says his
office has a record of forged title deeds and all other documents.
"We have conducted
thorough investigations and review of the allocations and I am
already making a detailed report, which we shall submit it to the
relevant authorities," he said in Narok.
Meanwhile, the crackdown
on illegal logging continues amid resistance from residents.
Link : http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/20012004/News/News_Spotlight200120041.html
|
