Kiunjuri warns fake IDPs against seeking compensation

Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri on Monday said that the government would only cater for genuine Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and warned that those posing as IDPs risk prosecution.

The warning comes barely a day after people claiming to be IDPs in Isiolo County demanded compensation from the government.

Despite the closure of all IDP camps in the country, people claiming to be IDPs have been resurfacing seeking compensation, with most of them claiming they were left out when the government compensated others.

Most of the IDPs are said to have come from Molo, Nakuru, Kisumu and Nyeri Counties after the 2007 post-election violence that rocked parts of the country, and settled in Isiolo with relatives and friends.

Led by Osman Dima, the IDPs claim they were promised a total of Ksh 210,000 each but got only Ksh 10,000 after Ksh 25,000 was deducted from each as service fee for the compensation cash.

Fatuma Gonjobe, one of the IDPs, told Citizen Digital that she fled from Molo, Nakuru County in 2008 and no help has been forthcoming from the government since, even after losing all her property and identification documents during the skirmishes.

She intimates that they were only offered vehicles to ferry them to Isiolo, with the names of their colleagues who have since died being allegedly struck off from the list of beneficiaries

The CS, however, says in such cases, the government will only assist them after verifying their claims of being IDPs.

Last month, the government disbursed Ksh 1.2 billion to resettle and compensate all the remaining IDPs from the 2007 Post Election Violence and directed that all camps be closed.