A parliamentary committee has reignited hopes for hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have yet to be compensated following the 2007-08 post-election violence, after revealing that Sh272 million earmarked for their resettlement remains idle at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
The Special Funds Committee, chaired by Migori Woman Representative Fatuma Mohammed, now wants the Interior Ministry to reconstitute the defunct National Consultative Coordination Committee on IDPs to oversee the release of the funds. The committee noted that although most displaced families were resettled or reintegrated, many were left out when the camps were closed after the committee’s three-year mandate ended in 2017.
“The matter is unresolved,” the MPs said in their report following a review of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s findings on the National Humanitarian Fund. They stressed that the closure of the IDP camps before full compensation was achieved left many victims without justice.
The Sh272 million in question has been lying dormant in CBK accounts, with concerns mounting that it is not generating any interest despite provisions in the law requiring that idle balances be invested in deposit interest-earning accounts. The Interior Ministry acknowledged that the absence of the committee has stalled disbursement, stressing that the fund can only be wound up through an Act of Parliament.
“All commercial bank accounts have since been closed and balances transferred to the CBK account,” the ministry said, adding that legal modalities must be followed before the fund can be disbanded.
Initially, IDPs in camps were compensated with packages of at least Sh400,000 alongside parcels of land. However, hundreds of victims, particularly from Nyanza and Western regions, maintain they were overlooked. They currently have a petition before the National Assembly seeking to unlock the long-running standoff with Harambee House.
The MPs have recommended that within six months of their report’s adoption, the Interior Cabinet Secretary reconstitutes a functional committee to finalize payouts. For many IDPs still waiting, the release of the Sh272 million could finally bring closure to years of uncertainty.
