Displaced Kenyans Reluctant To Return Home

Displaced Kenyans Reluctant To Return Home Website
The tens of thousands of Kenyans driven from their homes by post elections violence are reluctant to return to their homes, the United Nations Information Centre has said. It said at several settlements in Eldoret in western Kenya, which was recently visited by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), internally displaced persons (IDPs) expressed fears returning to their homes. They want to get assurance that there will not be renewed violence before they leave their camps. The IDPs also want to see cogent measures being in place to help them recover their lost property and rebuild their houses Late last month, a power-sharing pact was signed between the Party of National Unity and the opposition Orange Democratic Movement. Some 1,000 people were killed and more than 300,000 others forced to flee their homes after the disputed elections in which President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner. The opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed he was robbed of victory. The UN said humanitarian agencies on the ground had reached consensus that regardless of what happened on the political or humanitarian sphere, Kenya faced a food security crisis that could potentially last until next year as a result of the recent violence combined with the drought that had impacted much of the country. The UN assessment revealed that many of the displaced would prefer to wait for further in national reconciliation talks before risking returning home, which means that many farmers might not cultivate their fields before the rainy season kicks off in mid-March. Earlier this month, 134 people - many having taken part in or being victims of post-election violence in Nairobi's slums - took part in a training programme sponsored by the UN and the government. The training course was in conflict resolution, peace building and reconciliation. A similar scheme, which seeks to promote further national reconciliation and bolster slum protection, is being considered for western Kenya and the Rift Valley.