Land Data Survey Report on Internal Displacement
Since 1991, the violent displacement of whole villages and families in many regions of the country has become a disturbing trend around elections. Besides generating immense human suffering, economic and ecological destruction, internal displacement deepens the already complex land issues in the country, making them even more difficult to solve. In a vicious cycle, internal displacement produces more uncertainty and corruption around land and sometimes more violence as the displaced seek to return home through the formal government resettlement program “Operation Rudi Nyumbani”(ORN) or find new homes through informal settlement schemes.Without care, public dialogue, peace-building and transparency, re-settlement of the displaced can easily cause more problems, deepen existing ones and lead to more human suffering.
This report is a compelling call for improved policy frameworks and implementation mechanisms for resettlement and reintegration of the displaced. Most critically, by showing the appalling conditions of the displaced, who were previously proud and productive Kenyans of all walks of life and ethnic affi liation. This report is a call for concerted and thoughtful action to address the issue of internal displacement once and for all.
It provides strong recommendations for improving the existing resettlement program, preventing further displacement and placing Kenya back on a trajectory of peace and productivity. It is my sincere hope that policy-makers, civil servants, civil society and concerned citizens will take this report to heart, circulate and discuss it, and then act on its wise advice.
