The residents of Gem Ramula in Siaya County are want a written commitment and assurance from a mining company that they will not be displaced from their ancestral land.
Speaking during a public participation forum, organised by the Siaya County Assembly to get their views following a petition, the residents lamented that contrary to the verbal assurances from the company, Shanta Gold mining company representatives, the company has been doing several studies in the area, most of which point to the prospect of future displacements to pave way for large scale mining.
Led by the chairman of the Ramula Community Development association, Colonel (rtd) Moses Adol, the residents said the company has already done relocation action plan, traffic and socio – economic surveys among others.
“A lot of these surveys point towards one direction – relocation” said the retired army colonel adding “that is why we are saying that they need to put in writing that nobody is going to be relocated from Ramula.”
Adol said that if the company does so in writing, the community, that has been opposed to its activities, will reconsider its stance.
A member of the community, Patrick Ochieng accused the Siaya county of dragging its feet to conduct the public participation forum, lamenting that it has taken them a whole year since a petition was sent.
“The committee has come here one year late. I do not think they have clean hands” he said adding that the committee seem to have given the company time to strengthen its arm and campaign within the community.
Ochieng, a member of the Haki Madini coalition that brings together civil society organisations that work with local communities where mining take place, warned the residents to brace themselves for relocation given the studies, whose reports are yet to be made public, conducted by the company.
Kenya Human rights commission official, Cornelius Oduor and Haki Madini’s Florence Ndeti who attended the forum as observers, said the interest of the local community must be at the centre of whatever decisions that the authorities will take.
“Concerns have been raised that some officials have been compromised, fears are that the local leadership will be compromised” said Oduor.
He said Kenya Human Rights Commission and Haki Madini coalition will support the Ramula community too get its rights.
Addressing the press after the forum, Ms. Florence Ndeti called for dialogue and openness amongst the stake holders but challenged the community to push for more information in regard to the grey areas such as the findings of the surveys conducted by the company.
East Gem member of the county assembly, Seth Baraka called for peace amongst the local residents as the issue was being addressed by relevant stakeholders.
Baraka said that as residents, they want any investor in the area to sit down with the locals and follow the right channel before embarking on mining.
Siaya County Assembly chairman of the water, environment and natural resources committee who chaired the public participation forum, Justus Oguta Obuya assured the participants that his committee will perform its task diligently.
“We have taken note, we are going to sit down, consider all your views and do a report to the county assembly and action will be taken,” said Oguta.
