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Kenyans return home
09/05/2008 09:21 - (SA)
Nairobi - Some 60 000 Kenyans have left camps under a government programme to resettle families displaced by the communal violence that followed elections at the end of last year, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
"So far 59 784 internally displaced people (IDPs) from different farms have already been resettled. Seventy-thousand are still in camps and they will soon be resettled," government spokesperson Alfred Mutua said in a statement.
"Due to inadequate transport facilities, the government is beefing up the number of vehicles being used to transport the IDPs back to their homes. The returning of the IDPs is voluntary and government is not forcing anyone to go back."
The resettlement programme, dubbed "Operation Return Home", was launched on Monday.
President Mwai Kibaki will next Monday lead a fundraising ceremony to raise urgently needed funds for the resettlement.
The government had already allocated one billion shillings to establish the Humanitarian Fund, but requires at least 30 billion shillings.
The violence broke out following December 27 elections which opposition candidate Raila Odinga claimed were rigged by incumbent Kibaki.
The crisis left at least 1 500 people dead and displaced around 300 000.
Some have since returned to their homes but others have continued to face attacks and intimidation, even after the February 28 political deal which saw Odinga join a coalition cabinet and become Kibaki's prime minister.
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