KISUMU
  26th January 2007


NATION REPORT ON DOMINION FARM IN YALA WAS MISLEADING SENSATIONAL AND DISTORTED

By Leo Odera Omolo

The management of the Dominion Farm Limited (DFL) based at Yala River in Siaya, a project which is covering both sides of the Yala River in Bondo and Siaya Districts have strongly refuted a report which appeared in the DAILY NATION earlier this week.

The report which blamed the US based multinational firm for having not adequately paid out compensation to the families of people whose land was acquired in Adua Village on the Yimbo side of River Yala has been described by the Country Director as misleading, irresponsible, sensationalized and distorted.

The director, Mr. Graham Vetch said the company took it as a very serious misrepresentation of facts contained therein, the Nation's publication of Monday 22nd January 2007 and written by the paper columnist, Mr. Peter Kimani under the banner headline entitled LIFE OF UTTER DOMINION BY FOREIGN FIRM.

"Mrs. Maria Aoko Okello, the alleged victim of cruelty and inhuman treatment in the hands of the foreign firm was adequately paid all her claims. The woman quoted extensively by Mr. Kimani as one of the victims of cruelty and inhuman treatment gave a false testimony. There were only few homesteads in Adua area. The people whose land was acquired by the DFL were adequately compensated", said Mr. Vetch.

Mr. Vetch gave the detailed breakdown of how Mrs. Okello was paid as follows:- She had a 0.8892 of an acre of land for which she received the sums of Kshs. 20,070/-. She was further paid the sums of Kshs. 14,375 for a small-dilapidated grass thatched dwelling house. The old lady further received the sums of Kshs. 2000/- as compensation for the loss of fruit trees. She received the sums of Kshs. 28,355 for other valued structures within the homestead.

Mrs. Okello thumb printed her signature on the agreement form and the payment was released to her on December 14-01-2005. Her co-wife received only Kshs. 30,000/- and used the same money for buying another land and she eventually moved out and settled in her new home.

But Maria Okello later visited Mr. Vetch's office at the Yala Swamp on the Siaya side of River Yala and complained to the Country Director that she was finding it difficult to move her household things and other movable property. She asked for assistance either in kind of a vehicle or cash. She was given further amount of Kshs. 5000/- to assist in transporting her belonging out of the homestead.

In total, this particular woman received Kshs. 64,737.70. Mrs. Maria Okello, however, has refused to vacate her land after receiving all the compensation and lodged her complaints with the ACTION AID, an international NGO operating in the area, which for some unknown reasons, has been trying hard to sabotage the operations of the Dominion Farm Limited at the Yala River Swamp.

Mr. Vetch believes that the NGO had sponsored Mr. Kimani for the purpose of visiting Yala Swamp and distorting the facts. The writer had arrived at the company gates in Ratuoro Camp on Saturday 20th January 2007 at 4.00pm when everybody had gone home for the weekend. Kimani left his business card with the watchman at the gate and asked the DFL management to contact him. But on Monday morning when the information was received by the company, the article had already appeared in the column of the NATION on Monday 22nd January 2007.

According to Mr. Vetch, the NATION man should have contacted the DFL for their comments on the malicious allegations and accusation. He said the DFL has nothing to hide and the NATION's writer had the opportunity of seeking views from both sides. But instead, the writer deliberately and flagrantly chose to discredit his firm, portraying it as the company which is practicing inhuman practices against the local community, which is devoid of truth. The whole report was biased and one sided.

Commenting on Mrs. Okello's claims of her loss of environment such as clean waters of River Yala for health instead drinking of stagnated water from the man-made dam, Mr. Vetch said the River Yala waters still flow through Adua villages unhindered by the company project.

The loss of fish from Lake Kanyaboli, according to Mr. Vetch is a far-fetched story. This is because the lake is nine or ten kilometers from Adua village. But even though the people in both Bondo and Siaya districts are still enjoying the fish from Lake Kanyaboli and it is not necessarily that someone must live within the lakeshores.

On the loss of sisal and papyrus weeds for making mats for sale, Mr. Vetch said there is still a lot of the weed downstream in Yala Swamp. There was no sisal in the area as claimed by the old lady. These were pack of lies and distortion.

On the alleged curfew, which she claimed is imposed on the residents, requiring them to cross the Yala River only between 6.00am and 6.00pm and not by the night, Mr. Vetch wondered how can one cross the river using traditional canoe at night. This is not possible and the whole story is a piece of rubbish.

And because the company has a lot of property scattered here and there on the 17,000 hectare Yala Swamp area it cannot allow people to cross over its internally built bridge for the security of its property. And in any way, ladies carrying children at their back while ridding bicycles have no business crossing Yala River at night.

The director reminded Mr. Kimani of the abject poverty rate, which was in the area before the DFL came into business. This is now something of the past. Almost every young man is ridding on a new bicycle and looking well nourished. The view written by Mr. Kimani, he added did not reflect that of the communities living on both sides of Yala Swamp.

Neighbours of Mrs. Okello believe the woman is only mischievous. "We are very happy with the DFL activities". "The firm", said Mr. Benjamin Okoth from Adua Yimbo, " has maintained a very cordial relationship with the local communities. It has distributed mosquito nets freely to the residents and continues participating in both social and education activities. This project is a God's given, because it has changed the lives of the locals tremendously.

Ratuoro, a small market, which hitherto had only two makeshift kiosks as shops, is now thriving with well stocked shops, a bar, a posho mill and is very crowded with people trying to sell their wares on market day.

Mr. Okoth also dismissed Mrs. Okello's claims that she cannot close her gate and move out of her homestead for a new home because her daughter had died and that she was yet to perform all the traditional mourning rites. "This is nonsense," he said. "Moreover, her homestead had no such gate, but an open air, he added.

Asked why he thinks she has not moved, Mr. Okoth said , she might have squandered her money on other things and ignored to buy a new piece of land or she is just a naughty person, keeping her money in safe custody and causing unwarranted troubles to make more money.

Mr. Vetch concluded thus, "The floods of last December devastated many villages along the major rivers in Nyanza and Western Provinces. It could have affected Adua village in Yimbo even if DFL was not there. This was one of the worst floods in one hundred years. It displaced thousands of families when every major river in the region burst its banks and flooded wide hinterland. If the flood waters submerged Mrs. Okello's house, this should be treated as a natural calamity. But she must move out of her homestead after receiving a colossal sum of money in compensation".

ENDS
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

The writer is LUOCOME REPORTER based in Kisumu. We urge all LUOCOME members with pressing issues pertaining to media and press releases to kindly contact him from any where in world. He will assist you to get true picture of your Village Developement.
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