Kenyan legislator charged with inciting evictions of farmers

Nairobi: A Kenyan lawmaker has been charged in a Nairobi court with inciting his constituents to violence and racial contempt.

Mathew Lempurkel is accused of calling for the forceful eviction of white landowners if opposition leader Raila Odinga wins the general election on August 8. Lempurkel is a member of Odinga’s party and represents the Laikipia North constituency.

Lempurkel denied the charges Friday but said he could not comment further when quizzed by journalists outside court.

Lempurkel called into a local radio station saying: “There is no private land in Laikipia North. Nobody will go short of grass while I am MP.”

While some have blamed the increase in land invasions on the drought others argue the reasons are more complex.

There is increased competition for land and resources as a result of population growth and a massive increase in the number of livestock.

But there is also growing anger over historical land injustices. The region has enormous tracts of land owned by white settlers and Kenyan elites.

The approach of next month’s presidential, parliamentary and local elections has also increased political tension.