The debate on the resettlement of people living inside the Mau Forest seems to have taken a political dimension that has shaken the unity of the ODM party.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who has been fronting for the removal of the encroachers in order to conserve Mau forest, has met stiff opposition from some of his MPs from the Rift Valley.

The MPs including William Ruto, Isaac Ruto, Franklin Bett and Joshua Kutuny have publicly differed with their party leader.

The matter turned ugly when the Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto was allegedly reported to be campaigning for a rival candidate in the Sotik by-election set for Thursday.

Ruto has teamed up with civic leaders in campaigning for UDM's candidate Alexander Sitienei while claiming ODM was imposing leaders on the people in total disregard of democratic principles.

But Raila maintains that destruction of Mau must be terminated through relocation that would be facilitated amicably by the government.

He has cautioned leaders not to politicize the matter and threatened to expose those who amassed huge chunks of forest land for themselves if they did not shut up.

On Monday Agriculture Minister William Ruto insisted no one would be evicted from the forest until they are compensated by the government.

Speaking when he campaigned for ODM's parliamentary candidate in Bomet, Beatrice Kones, Ruto said he would take personal responsibility for the eviction of 15 000 families from the forest which is a major water catchment area in the country.

Ruto however warns that the issue of the evictions should not be tied to the Bomet and Sotic by-elections but should be handled soberly to ensure people do not suffer unnecessarily.

And with the official opposition bill looming in parliament, the Mau storm in ODM provides another test to the prime minister's political acumen on whether he can strike a balance between political survival and national interest.