A Kenyan Cabinet minister has made an outspoken attack on white settlers, telling a public rally that farmers of British origin ”will have to go away”, in the latest spat in a feud with the British government over allegations of corruption.
Transport Minister Chris Murungaru, who launched the attack at a public rally at the weekend, was banned from travelling to Britain last month.
Murungaru told supporters in his Kieni constituency: ”If they think that Murungaru is smelling, those who are our neighbours will have to go away.
”We will not force them out, but we will know as a government how to do it.”
The minister’s constituency borders the Laikipia district, where a small number of white landowners have vast tracts of farmland.
The area has been the scene of protests by the Masai, who are demanding the return of ancestral lands.
Although this marks an escalation of his personal feud with the British government, the minister’s remarks are unlikely to have an impact on Kenyan government policy.
Kenya has firmly defended the property rights of white farmers against land claims. – Guardian Unlimited Â