The government has released Sh2.6 billion to compensate families that were evicted from South West Mau Forest in Narok County,” President William Ruto announced yesterday.

“Each of the 13,000 families will get Sh200,000 as compensation to end years of suffering,” he said.

Dr Ruto spoke at Tendwet Primary School grounds in Narok South Constituency as he wrapped up his two-day tour of Narok County after visiting Narok North, Narok South, Narok West, and Emurua Dikirr.

A total of 28,000 families had registered as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) after security agencies evicted them from forest land. An electric fence was subsequently erected around parts of the forest.

During the verification process done by administrators and Ministry of Lands officials, the fate of 15,000 IDPs was in limbo.

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Dr Ruto said that another group of 2,000 families — who were living in IDP camps — had earlier been compensated by the government because their situation was dire.

He said that two years ago, the government gave the families Sh300,000 each after the IDP camps in Narok South Constituency were demolished.

"People who lived in IDP camps were rained on, and their children died because of severe weather conditions. It is unfortunate that they had to endure all that,” Dr Ruto said.

"We are closing the chapter on Mau Forest eviction today. It is no longer going to be a political question in the next, and subsequent general elections.

"When my competitors raised the Mau question, I promised ahead of the 2022 General Election that I had the answer. I am here today to deliver compensation to the families which were evicted. That is the answer.

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"The eviction issue has been with us for several years, and families have lost their loved ones in IDP camps. We will close that chapter today with the compensation.”

In recent years, there have been evictions conducted in Mau Forest; in 2005 during President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, as well as during his predecessor, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta’s, term in 2019.

Mau forests evictees at one of the Internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in 2022 after being displaced during successive government-led eviction exercises.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Despite repeated promises to resettle families which were out in the cold, the State had not kept its word for the last 14 years.

President Ruto announced that a caveat placed on private farmlands around Mau Forest — in Nakuru, Narok, Kericho and Bomet has been lifted by the Ministry of Lands in a bid to resolve the land ownership issues in the South Rift Valley region.

Read: The Sh21.5bn question - Can Kenya save Mau Forest this time?

President William Ruto during a tree-planning exercise in Mau Forest on October 27, 2025.

Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group

“The caveat on land owned by families around Mau Forest complex was lifted last week by the Ministry of Lands and the people are now free to use their title deeds to secure loans from financial institutions to develop,” he said.

Residents had title deeds that were not legally recognised by the government. However, during a recent survey, the issue was resolved after forest and private land was demarcated.

The president said that the Narok County Government had been given the title deed of the South West Mau Forest after the boundaries were demarcated.

He also said that the government had bought 5,800 acres of land belonging to former Provincial Commissioner Isaiah Cheluget to settle families that had invaded the property and settled on it almost 30 years ago.

More than 600 families had moved to court seeking ownership of the land. However, various courts, including the Court of Appeal, all returned the request. The courts ruled that the land belonged to the Cheluget family.

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