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Ogiek given a month to quit
forest
01.08.2001
In the latest move in the saga of
the the Ogiek honey-hunters (see Kenyan honey-hunters' land to be
carved up?) the Kenya government has given all the occupants of
the Rift valley forests in Kenya one month to get out.
The order was issued on July 6,
2001 by the new Rift Valley provincial commissioner, Peter Raburu.
'We are going to flush out everybody residing and cultivating in
the forests irrespective of who allowed them in', said Raburu at a
press conference.
But it was clear that the main
target of the order was the Ogiek community, the ancestral owners
of the Mau Forest, who have been making trouble for the government
by taking them to court over the future of the forest.
The case will begin on October 4 in
the Nairobi High Court, and the government evidently wants the
people out of the forest first.
The Ogiek are resisting the order.
'The administration will be in contempt of court if they dare try
to evict us', said Ogiek spokesman Joseph Towett.
Survival has protested to the
Kenyan authorities.
For further information and to add
your own protest see the Ogiek website at www.ogiek.org
Survival is a worldwide
organisation supporting tribal peoples. It stands for their right
to decide their own future and helps them protect their lives,
lands and human rights.
http://www.survival-international.org
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