Victims of the Mai Mahiu dam tragedy have appealed to the government to resettle them away from the flood-route as many were still in fear and traumatized by the event.
With the death toll hitting 62 and over 30 people still missing, the families called on the government to hasten the resettlement exercise as life in the camp was unbearable.
This came as members of Uwezo land buying company visited the families living in Mai Mahiu camp and promised to engage other real estate companies to secure land for some of the victims.
According to the company CEO Samuel Maina, the families had gone through mental and physical torture following the Monday morning incident.
He said that the land buying company would engage like-minded stakeholders in the sector with a view of resettling several families and alleviating their suffering.
“Apart from offering the families food and other basic items, we shall seek ways of getting some of them land and even houses so that they can restart their lives,” he said.
This was echoed by a director in the company Kevin Wainana who called on Kenyans to continue supporting the families having lost all their personal effects to the floods.
“We cannot be able to reach out to all those affected but through the support of other Kenyans and organizations we can make a big change,” he said.
One of the victims George Njogu who lost all his personal belongings including rental houses said that they were not ready to be resettled in their former land.
He said that they were still in fear following the floods that swept everything including houses, livestock and tens of families from the area.
“We thank the government and Kenyans for the continued support but going back to an area where tens of lives were lost and property damaged is a bit challenging,” he said.
This was echoed by another victim David Karanja who called on an assessment of the area before any resettlement was done to avoid another disaster.
“We are waiting for the government directive on the issue of resettlement and the status of the area where we were displaced as many are yet to recover,” he said.
Evangelist Lucy Ngunjiri who has hosted the displaced families in her Prayer Center in Mai Mahiu said that many of the victims needed counseling and support following the ordeal.
“I decided to give out this facility for free to host these families following the tragedy as they need all manner of support as they restart their lives afresh,” she said.
