Today's Headlines
- Two Exhibitions Are On At Ramoma, Nairobi
- Country to Review Tourism Law
- Econet Wireless Finally Rolls Out
- Odinga Warns of Civil Unrest
- Mulee Rules Out Harambee Stars U-Turn
- Taking Up a Women's Agenda
- More Than 6,000 Christian Youth Converge for Prayers
- Catholic Church Outraged By MPs' Refusal to Pay Tax
- Pope Benedict Praying for Release of Abducted Nuns
- Thousands Flee Amid Fears of Border Clashes
- Malaria Rates Plummet Among Children
- Winning Against HIV Stigma Behind Bars
- First Congress of Federation of African Journalists a Historic Milestone, Says IFJ
- Archbishop Lele Urges State to Act as Food Crisis Bites
- Regional Workshop Focus Border Management, Irregular Migration
- Silverbird Acquires Kenya's Nu Metro, Starts Operations in Ghana
- Raila is Evil, Says Minister
- Man Charged With Abduction of Two Catholic Sisters
- UN Censures State On Torture
- Agencies Seek $390 Million to Offset Climate And Food Risks
- UN-Backed Scheme Gives 3,000 Prisoners Clean Water and Sanitation
- Samosa Festival is On in Nairobi
- Heartstrings in Another Comedy
- Govts, Investors Engage RVR in Rail Bid
- Mwangi Replaces Mwebesa At NSE
- Riepa Hosts Business Association
- ICTR Petitions UN for Arrest of Kabuga
- UBA to Invest SH360 Billion in Kenya
- Free Movement of People Too, Not Just Goods and Capital
- Judges Running Out of Money?
The Nation (Nairobi)
October 1, 2008
News Article By Eunice Machuhi
The Government has suspended the closure of the Nakuru showground refugee camp.
The camp should have been closed on Wednesday but district commissioner Njenga Miiri said demonstrations on Monday forced officials to stop paying compensation money to the refugees, delaying the closure of the camp.
The Government is paying each family Sh10,000 to help them in starting normal life afresh. The demonstrations erupted after 20 refugees were arrested on Sunday night for allegedly holding an illegal meeting.
Buy land
The rest of the refugees barricaded the Nakuru-Kabarnet road for more than two hours on Monday and threatened to storm Central Police Station where their colleagues were being held.
Mr Miiri told the Nation on Tuesday that about 7,000 refugees remained at the camp and he did not anticipate difficulties in convincing them to leave once they had received their money.
He said most of them would leave after they had formed groups through which to buy land with the money.
A visit to the camp found the refugees holding animated discussions as they waited for officers from the Ministry of Special Programmes to pay them. They said they had been waiting since Sunday.
Ms Mercy Nyaboke said she was eager to leave as soon as she received the Sh10,000. She said she wanted to join other internal refugees who are pooling resources to buy a farm.
Been paid
Mr Mwangi Kinyanjui claimed he had not received any money although the register indicates that he had been paid.
At Mlima camp in Molo District, some of the 200 refugees have been hospitalised after suffering from diarrhoea.
They were also vomiting. Camp chairman Hiram Mugo said that because of the cold weather in the area, children were suffering from respiratory diseases.
Suffering here
"We are suffering here. We want the Government to give us the Sh10,000 and build houses for us so we can leave."
Mr Mugo urged the Government to investigate cases where chiefs were inflating the number of refugees by adding names of people not affected by the post-election violence to the camp registers.
Molo district commissioner Katee Mwanza said that a medical team had been sent to the camp.
Reported by Simon Siele, George Sayagie and Wanjiru Macharia
