People in the Sierra Leone settlement of the 46,000 hectare Maasai Mau Forest are fleeing to escape eviction.
Some have title deeds but fear they may be targeted in the next phase of evictions. They started moving on Monday as others raced against time to harvest crops from their farms.
The Kenya Water Towers Agency report indicates that when verification for landowners was done in 2009, only 430 settlers in Sierra Leone had genuine title deeds.
Most of the soldiers, who went to Sierra Leone for a UN peacekeeping mission, bought land in area but are now loading their belongings onto lorries, tractors and donkey carts and leaving.
A prominent family in Narok sold about 9,000 acres to the returning soldiers in 2002.
"We don't want to be caught flat-footed as was the case with previous evictions," said Kipteigok Ruto, who bought seven acres in 2003.
Ruto said most of the people had left, fearing Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service officers, Narok county rangers and police from the Rapid Deployment Unit will kick them out.
"We are not comfortable being the only people left in the forest. There are reports that the final push of securing the forest will be in Sierra Leone," he said.
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Environmental conservation groups say it will be difficult for the joint security team to effectively protect the forest if Sierra Leone settlement remains.
"The settlement should be removed and all routes sealed to secure it," Mau Conservation Trust
Jackson Kamoe chairman said .
In 2005, the government placed a caveat on all title deeds issued to claimants, saying they were irregularly issued by the Ministry of Lands.
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Narok county commissioner George Natembeya has told settlers with title deeds to surrender them for verification.
He said they want the documents and agreements checked before the second phase of evictions begins.
Natembeya told the press in his office on Wednesday that those with genuine title deeds will be compensated or assigned alternative settlements.
“We know there are people who have fake title deeds," he said and denied reports that security personnel were using force to eject settlers.
Natembeya said the campaign to secure Mau Complex is on course.
"About 90 per cent has been secured. Settlers moved out voluntarily. Some went back and burnt their houses to make it look like force was used," he said.
Natembeya said the sources of Mara and Ewaso Nyiro rivers were also secured.
After the operation, he said, indigenous trees will be planted on depleted areas of the forest, including the sources of the two rivers.
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