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Two hundred Ogiek evicted from
Narok
Six elders detained in NAROK / KENYA
06.02.2001
TWO hundred squatters from the
Ogiek community have been forcibly evicted
from Esinoni group ranch in Ololulung'a division of Narok district,
allegedly on orders from the area District Officer.
Six elders from the community who
tried to resist the eviction have
been arrested and are being held at Narok police station.
The national director of Ogiek
Rural Integrated Projects (ORIP),
Charles Saina Sena, on behalf of the squatters, protested bitterly
over the
arrest and eviction of the squatters saying an injunction they had
earlier
filed was still pending in court.
"The matter is in court, it
was filed by the community blocking
their eviction and as such, it is contempt of court for the DO to
order the
eviction of these Ogieks," protested Sena.
He said his efforts to secure the
release of the elderly men hit a
snag when the local Officer Commanding Station (OCS) said his
hands were
tied since the orders of eviction and arrest emanated from the DO.
He threatened to mobilise the Ogiek
community in the country to hold
a huge demonstration against the government for continued
harassment and
failure to address their squatter status despite the community
having
supported Moi and his Kanu government for many years.
"Why should the Ogiek be
viewed by the government as second class
people in any land deal," said Sena whose organisation
champions the
interests and welfare of the Ogiek.
He argued that their main dispute
with the provincial administration arose
when they demanded their inclusion in the on going sub-division of
the ranch
to members on grounds that they had lived there since time
immemorial.
He at the same time invited Kenya
human rights bodies and the
Survival International organisation to quickly come to the aid of
the
oppressed Ogiek residents in Narok whom he said have suffered
silently at
the hands of the local provincial administration.
Efforts to contact the area DC and
the DO for comments were
fruitless as telephone calls to their house.
SOURCE: THE PEOPLE (newspaper),
06.02.2001, verified by communication with ORIP
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