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It’s back to the forest for Ogiek
THE STANDARD
Monday April 9, 2007
By Amos Kareithi and Isaiah Lucheli
Before they were persuaded to leave the forest for a more ‘decent’ life, the Ogiek lived comfortably in caves. After three decades of elusive settling in Chebyuk Settlement Scheme in Mt Elgon District, they have been forced to retreat to their original dwellings.
They would rather face the elephants coming to lick salt deposits in the caves than face the bullets back in the scheme. The Ogiek, who have been turned into refugees, have had to face hardships that make life almost not worth living.
Nelly Koraeny, a mother of seven, went into labour on Friday last week and efforts to take her to the nearest health facility
- 30km away - on a donkey was slow and painful. She did not survive the ordeal.
Mzee Benson Kimangu Ndiwa, a physically disabled father of nine, was carried on a stretcher-like structure made from bamboo sticks and a sack for 35km as his relatives fled to Chepkitale forest.
And women have been queuing for over 24 hours to have their maize flour milled with a hand mill, commonly known as rekoreko.
Painful death
Juddy Cherop counts her loses after her house was razed down by arsonists in Makutano area. |
Sugar, salt, cooking fat and other essential items have become a luxury for the villagers who have to contend with hunting and gathering or face painful death due to starvation.
These are some of the tales that were narrated to us when we visited more than 25,000 members of the Ogiek community who have fled the clashes in Chebyuk settlement scheme and settled in Chepkitale National Reserve.
The Ogiek community, were hunters and gatherers who lived in the forest but the Government moved them out of the forest and settled them in Chebyuk settlement scheme in the 70s. |
After the over thirty-five years of farming and access to basic needs, the community is back in Chepkitale forest. They have established their homes in the national reserve at Toboo, Kemol, Labot, Chebong’weny and Iya, while others have settled in caves in the forests.
The Ogiek fled Chebyuk with their livestock and had to trek for more than 30km to be where their fathers and forefathers had lived.
They now depend on herbal medicine for treatment, honey and wild vegetables. Milk and meat serve as food for the community, while more than 2,500 children have abandoned school.
The road leading to Chepkitale from Kapsokwony is in bad state. The Standard team was forced to alight from the car on several occasions to enable it pass some rough sections.
At one point the vehicle lost power due to the steep and rough terrain, forcing us to push it as we headed to where more than 10,000 members of the Ogiek community have fled.
Desperate situation
On arrival at the villages, one could hardly miss out the lack of civilisation. There are no hospitals, schools and other amenities. The poor state of the road has greatly hampered efforts by relief agents to give humanitarian assistance to the displaced families.
Reverend Maritim Rirei of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) told The Standard at Labot that the villagers were at risk of dying of starvation and disease as humanitarian agencies had difficulties accessing the area. "The road to Chepkitale is in pathetic condition and the situation will worsen if the rains start. The Government must do something," he said.
A story of a vicious struggle between the elephants and the locals starts unfolding when we reach Lolwat cave, where some of the Ogiek are living with their livestock.
Amos Laikong explains that the caves are death traps for the villagers and their livestock as elephants troop in unannounced to lick salt.
The Labot sub-location Assistant chief, Mr Rasmi Sangula, confirmed that the elephants had trampled livestock in the caves.
Expectant women have died
Life for the Ogiek has taken a turn for the worse, especially for those young men who were born in Chebyuk. They have to learn to survive by hunting and gathering like their forefathers did.
At least three expectant women have died in the forest while children have been taken ill due to the low temperatures in the forest.
Chepkitale forest is way past the bamboo-growing zone and majority of the people wrap themselves with blankets throughout the day to keep themselves warm.
The design of the houses in the forest is also amazing. The grass-thatched houses are very low and an adult cannot stand inside. They are divided into two. One section is for the family members, and the other for goats and sheep.
An elder, Mr Alfred Kimai, explained that the house is built low in order to reduce the cold, which becomes unbearable during the night. One hut hosts over 20 relatives.
Slaughtered like chicken
Another elder, Mr John Cheptingeny explained that the community had now to contend with a different way of life.
"We have wild berries, honey and wild vegetables such as Siuwondet. The vegetable is the only one that grows in the forest," he adds.
The plant is thorny and the women have to wear polythene bags to pluck it.
The elders voiced the community’s resolution of not returning to Chebyuk scheme due to the insecurity. They appealed to the Government to let them live in the forest or settle them elsewhere.
"We have seen our people being slaughtered like chicken and we cannot go back to the scheme. We rather die in this forest where we buried our forefathers than go back there," said Mr Richard
Kimutai.
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