Former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya has asked his political opponents not to use Mau Forest evictions done by the government in 2018 and 2019 to campaign against his Trans Nzoia county gubernatorial bid.
Speaking in Kitale, Natembeya said his role in the evictions that affected over 10,000 people was only the implementation of government directives.
Natembeya said he should not be blamed for enforcing a government directive.

“The Deputy President of this republic William Ruto is on record that Mau evictions were done to restore the Water tower from extinction,” he said.
The former provincial administrator said the eviction was effected following approval from Members of Parliament who approved a budget used to evict people that had encroached on the forest.
“I want to confirm that I was executing a government directive. The MPs who are here know very well that the money used to evict people from Mau was voted for by the members of Parliament, they did not oppose that eviction. I did not use my money to evict people,” Natembeya added.
He asked Trans Nzoia electorates not to accept propaganda peddled by his political nemesis terming them baseless.
“Don’t use the Mau issue as your political tool. The electorates cannot buy it anymore because they know the truth” he warned.

The ambitious administrator-turned-politician revealed that the government through Kenya Water Towers Agency is fencing the Mau forest to deter further encroachment.
“Currently, the government is fencing Mau forest. Am I the one doing that work? I am not the RC, I am just a civilian. That work is done by the Managing Director of Kenya Water Towers Agency Prof. Julius Tanui from Kericho, so please, don’t involve me in what the government is doing,” he cautioned.
During the first phase of the eviction in July 2018, about 7,700 people were evicted from Mau forest.
Over 12,000 acres of the forest were reclaimed. Over 10,000 people were affected in the second phase of evictions after the government canceled 1.274 land title deeds.
Mau Forest under restoration supports the lives of about 10 million people.
Natembeya is seeking to vie for the Trans Nzoia gubernatorial seat using the Democratic Alliance Party of Kenya (DAP-K) which is also part of the Azimio la Umoja Coalition.
He will face off with Kiminini Member of Parliament Chris Wamalwa, who has been endorsed as the Kenya Kwanza candidate.