Lead image for Kalonzo, Muturi lead opposition charge over Taveta evictions.
President William Ruto’s political backyard in Taveta turned into a fresh opposition battlefront on Saturday as a high-powered delegation descended on the area to rally families displaced by disputed land evictions.
Led by Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka, the opposition leaders took their campaign to Mkocheni, just a stone’s throw from Mr Ruto’s Eldoro farm, where dozens of families evicted about a year ago continue to live in makeshift camps.
The leaders used the visit to launch a blistering attack on the government, accusing senior officials of presiding over evictions that have rendered hundreds of residents homeless.
The delegation included Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi, DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa, former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa, Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako and more than 20 MPs.
“Private land belonging to the people of Jipe/Mwakoshemi has been forcefully grabbed, and the rightful occupants evicted from their homes in the dead of night by police officers who should be protecting them, not terrorising them. Hundreds of citizens — among them women, persons with disabilities, and children — are sleeping in makeshift shelters, without food or water.
"Not even the children have been spared: the land on which their schools stand has also been grabbed, locking them out of their right to an education guaranteed under Article 43 of the Constitution. This is a brazen violation of Articles 40 and 43 of the Constitution, and it will not go unanswered,” Mr Musyoka said in a statement.
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He said he had instructed Kathiani MP Robert Mbui to raise the matter on the floor of Parliament.