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"Kenya: 4,000 Evicted Ogieks
Want to Return to Their Forest Homes"
2007-06-26
The Nation (Nairobi)
More than 4,000 members of the Ogiek ethnic community want to
return to the forests from where they were evicted two years ago.
They were kicked out of public forests in Uasin Gishu and Nandi
South districts due to the destruction of water catchment areas.
They expected to be resettled by the Government.
Months have since turned into years of waiting.
"The fight for our rights has just began since we have nowhere to
go or graze our animals. It is up to the Government to either
allow us back into the forest or give us alternative land," Mr
Daniel Bomoo, 56, the North Rift chairman of the Ogiek community
told the Nation last week at a road reserve in Nandi where the
squatters are living in makeshift tents.
The community members, who depend on hunting and gathering as
their main source of livelihood, are camping at Cherobon village
on the border of the two districts and depend on well-wishers for
survival.
They claim they may lose their cultural identity unless the
Government allows them back to the forest or resettles them
elsewhere.
When the Nation visited them at Cherobon village last week, misery
was written on their faces. Their bodies are emaciated and live in
makeshift shelters.
"It is survival for the fittest. We have no food, shelter or
clothing. Diseases outbreak is a common phenomenon and we have
been neglected by everyone in the society," says Mama Leah
Tabsabei, 66.
"We are caught between a rock and a hard place. Our children are
not going to school, we are not tilling any land and are
experiencing a food crisis," says Mr Bomoo.
He adds: "The eviction has badly interfered with our
socio-cultural and economic livelihood and we are uncertain if we
shall ever be allocated alternative land."
Hard labour
Mr Bomoo explains that the Government wanted to evict people who
had occupied the public forest before resettling the community.
"The eviction has interfered with our lifestyle as we have to
endure all sorts of hard labour in order to cope with the
challenges. Sadly, our culture is getting speedily eroded by
communities accommodating us," explains Mr Bomoo.
They were evicted from Kipkurere, Cengalo, Cerengony, Cheboror,
Tinderet and Indungulu forests.
"It was pointless for the Government to evict us from our
ancestral homes if it had no clear plans to resettle us. Better we
be allowed to go back to the forest and continue with our
lifestyle," adds Mr Joseph Yamto.
An estimated 4,200 members of the Ogiek community were evicted
from the two districts between 1987 and last year.
Data from the forestry department indicates the community
initially occupied 70,000 hectares of forest land in Uasin Gishu
and 140,000 hectares in Nandi.
But the acreage decreased following the invasion of forests by
other communities for agricultural purposes.
Two years ago, the Government conducted a massive eviction of
illegal occupants of public forest land in the region following an
outcry over indiscriminate harvesting of trees and destruction of
eco-system.
"Besides exposing us to hunger and possible outbreak of diseases,
the eviction has subjected us to a vicious cycle of poverty, which
is too difficult to break," says Mr Jackson Mosbei who used to
live in Serengony forest.
He argues that the Ogiek, whose lifestyle resembles that of the
San in Botswana, lack capital to invest in any meaningful income
generating activity.
"We are actually disadvantaged in this new environment. The rest
of the communities are too far ahead of us in terms of development
and there is no way we can compete with them," says Mr Yamto.
The eviction has resulted in a protracted rivalry between the
Ogiek and officials from the department as they try to return to
the bush. Last year, two guards and a villager were killed in a
clash over livestock grazing in the forest.
The relationship between the Ogiek and other communities
surrounding the forest is no better either.
The Ogieks blame their eviction on communities who encroached the
forest for cultivation.
Tree harvesting
They also claim that "outsiders" were the greatest beneficiaries
of irregular allocation of forest land and were responsible for
the wanton harvesting of trees for timber.
"The Ogiek members have never been involved in destruction of
forest or water catchment areas. Instead, they have been actively
involved in conservation of the eco-system and protection of wild
animals. It is unfair for the Government to evict them without
option of settlement," adds Mr Bomoo.
Nandi South forestry officer Otieno Mboga says the destruction of
water catchment areas by squatters had reduced volumes in rivers
and streams.
Barnabas Bii And Tom Matoke
Nairobi
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