By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya 26 August 2026 - President William Ruto's decision to pay KSh2.6 billion to 13,000 families evicted from the Narok Mau Forest has transformed a long-running land and conservation dispute into a powerful political and development statement.
At Sogoo in Narok South Constituency on Wednesday, the President handed each beneficiary KSh200,000 through M-Pesa, saying the Government was finally closing what he called the “long and painful chapter” of the Mau evictions.
“We are today officially closing the long and painful chapter of people who were removed from the Mau Forest, which will now be managed by the County Government of Narok,” he said.
The symbolism was difficult to miss. The Mau has for years been one of Kenya's most politically sensitive environmental and land questions. Successive administrations have struggled to balance conservation of the country's largest water tower with the demands of families settled in or around the forest.
Ruto's message was that his administration was choosing an answer over political rhetoric.
“Many politicians have talked of the Mau question but I talked of the Mau answer. This is why we are here today closing this chapter,” he said.
The payment also gives the Government a tangible achievement to present to a constituency that has lived with the consequences of forest evictions for years. The President said the Government had earlier, in 2023, given KSh300,000 each to 2,000 families living in tents inside the forest to enable them to leave and purchase land elsewhere.
He further announced that 5,800 acres had been purchased to settle families occupying land previously owned by the family of former Provincial Commissioner Isaiah Cheluget.
“We are processing title deeds of the people living on the land after buying the Cheluget farm,” President Ruto said.
Taken together, the interventions point to a broader strategy: resolve politically difficult grievances through direct material support while simultaneously asserting government authority over development and land policy.
But the Mau question is not merely about compensation. It is also about the future of the water tower. The forest remains strategically important to Kenya's ecological and economic security. The challenge will be ensuring that resettlement does not create a new cycle of encroachment and that conservation responsibilities are clearly enforced after the transition to the County Government of Narok.
The President's Narok tour also served another purpose. It provided a platform to showcase development projects as evidence of his administration's record ahead of the 2027 General Election.
In Emurua Dikirr, Ruto announced KSh1.2 billion for the construction of Johanna Ng’eno University, saying it would expand access to higher education and create new economic opportunities.
“You told me, as residents of Emurua Dikirr, that you want a university. Today, I have brought KSh1.2 billion to construct the university that will be named after our brother Johana Ng'eno,” he said.
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He also laid the foundation stone for Trans Mara East Kenya Medical Training College hostels and launched construction of the 18km Mogondo-Cheramgoi-Mogor-Soit road.
The development message extended to traders. At the Emurua Dikirr Modern Market, which will accommodate nearly 500 traders, Ruto presented the facility as part of his administration's promise to support the informal economy.
“By delivering this modern market, we are honouring our pledge that every hustle matters,” he said, adding that Mama Mboga and Boda Boda riders were as important to economic transformation as other entrepreneurs.
The President then turned directly to politics.
He told his critics to prepare to explain their own development records, insisting that his administration had fulfilled at least 80 per cent of its 2022 manifesto pledges.
“Kenyans will elect leaders based on their development record. Sloganeering will not make Kenyans vote for them. They have a long way to go,” he said.
That statement effectively converts Narok into a political scoreboard. The Mau settlement, university, market, road and health-training infrastructure become individual entries in the Government's 2027 campaign narrative.
Governor Patrick Ntutu and several MPs, including Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, reinforced that argument, praising Ruto for delivering on his campaign promises.
“The resettlement of Mau Forest evictees, construction of modern markets, affordable houses and construction of roads across the country is a clear indication that this Government has delivered,” Ntutu said.
The political test, however, will be whether projects and payments translate into lasting public confidence. For Ruto, the Narok tour offered a clear proposition: voters should judge his administration not by slogans, but by what they can see, touch and benefit from.
The Mau settlement is therefore more than a compensation programme. It is emerging as one of the administration's most potent examples of its claim that development, problem-solving and political accountability should ultimately be measured by results.