The Ogiek Peoples

  Ogiek (Muthoni Wanyeki)- Land Rights in Kenya 

(Trees being cut down on their ancestral lands)

Who are the Ogiek peoples?

“The Ogiek (Muthoni Wanyeki) is one of the last forest dwelling hunter-gathers living in the Mau Forest in Kenya’s rift valley and in the forests around Mt.Elgon.” Says The University of British Columbia (UBC). The Ogiek people are fully dependent on the resources that the forests provide, this includes shelter, food, water, their identity and just for overall everyday life. They have integrated themselves into the forest and ecosystem thus, hunter gathers.

Where are they located?

The Ogiek people are located on around 4,000 hectares that run through 7 legislative districts on government land. Out of all this land about 15,000 of the population live among the Mau forest and Mt. Elgon. They have settled here, due to all the land that the government has illegally obtained, soon we will find out what is happening to these people and what is being done.

What has/is happening to the Ogeik people?

From the beginning out time Ogiek people have been pushed off their rightful land, evictions were put out by British colonizers, After the Ogiek peoples gained their independence, the Kenyian government decided to try and evict the land that they occupied, their reasoning, for “the respect to water conservation of the water catchment zone, stated in section 4 of Government Land Act of 2005.” They were able to do this because the act states that the government has the right to kick a population off conservation lands. In 2009 after much protesting and refusing to leave their land, the Kenya Forest Services (KFS) sent out a 30 day eviction notice, leaving the Ogiek peoples homeless and helpless. Although they were given water and environmental stability, the eviction was not for the reasons mentioned. The KFS gave out licenses to timber companies to cut a tremendously large number of trees, just another way the government is seen as ignorant and the fact they have not changed whatsoever.

When did this begin? The history leading up to now

Like stated before, the Ogiek people have struggled long and hard, throughout centuries around the battle for their land rights and general human rights and freedoms. First we have to take a look at the beginning, pre-colonization of the British government. During this period there had been “no claimed land” although the Ogiek people were living there and traded with other tribes, such as food, resources, etc. In 1505 trading between the Portuguese and East Africa began, the trading was mostly based around slave trading . The Ogiek people were just a tribe that settled in the valley, they were easily manipulated due to their size and the way of life in the tribe. Next we look at the Colonized period, during this time the Ogiek peoples were forced out of the forest to make room for white british settlers. UBC states, “The issue of the Ogiek getting evicted from the Mau Forest and forested areas near Mt. Elgon has started even during the colonial era. It is a past, present and ongoing issue.” This then brings us to 2009-2017, the NGO brought up enough evidence to take the Ogiek peoples case to court, it was shown to violate the Human and Peoples rights. The case went on for around 8 years and a final verdict was decided.

What was the final verdict? Was it successful?

To understand the verdict, first you should know the “tenure agreement” there are 3 types of land, 1.government land, 2.private land and 3.trust land. In 2012 NGO found enough evidence to file to the African Commission on People’s rights, this case lasted an extremely long 8 years, finally in 2017. The NGO stated “Human rights and land claims protected by the legislative law and the actual enforcement of the law remains doubtful and currently still getting updates.”  Now to look back at the different types of land, during the trial they hoped to regain the Ogiek peoples ancestral land without the restrictions the government put on them. The aim was to turn the land from government land to private or trust land. The case found that the government illegally evicted the Ogiek peoples land and that the Kenyian government had no evidence that the tribe affected the water conservation. Throughout the course it has been shown that Indigenous people respect their land and have a special connection with the environment. After the long, hard fight the Ogiek people regained their ancestral lands and the freedom to live within the forest, the way that they have always tried to do. One thing to think of when reflecting on this case is the stakeholders that play a large role in the Ogiek people, these include; “1.relations between the Ogiek and supernatural beings living in the forest, 2.relations between Ogiek and the animals in the forest, and 3.relations between Ogiek and others (enemies-those who partition the sources with the Ogiek.” (UBC)  All these stakeholders took effect in the court case and eventually played a part in the final verdict.

Although legally the Ogiek people have claim over their ancestral lands, the government refuses to respect the decision set out by the court, is there a way to change this behaviour, if so how?

As seen in many ways, the Kenyian government still refuses to respect the verdict, “But a ruling is not enough, it must be respected. The Kenyan government must now implement the ruling and let the Ogiek live freely on their ancestral land.” says Amnesty International. A way this behaviour can be changed is stricter laws surrounding the Ogiek people and the leniency the government has when their rights have been violated.  If more people knew about this issue, awareness could be spread and justice could begin to be served to the Ogiek people’s.

How does this connect to Canada? How about the communities around us, close to home?

This all begins from the start of colonizers, they took land and violated Indigenous peoples. In Canada we have many reserves around us, that have separate police forces, but are still being controlled by white people (colonizers).

 On the other hand we look at how much less Indigenous peoples have all around Canada, an example could be Manatoba and the reserve that is completely isolated from the mainland of the province. Yes we gave them a piece of land but completely disregarded clean water, proper resources, healthcare and so much more that are basic human rights. Just like the Ogiek people who were kicked off their land and given the bare minimum.

References

An Assessment of the Land Claims and Rights of the Ogiek (Muthoni Wanyeki) in the Mau and Mt. Elgon Forests of Kenya. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cases.open.ubc.ca/assessment-of-land-claims-and-rights-of-the-ogiek/

Kenya: Ruling in Ogiek case gives hope to Indigenous peoples everywhere. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/05/kenya-ruling-in-ogiek-case-gives-hope-to-indigenous-peoples-everywhere/