Kenya’s removal of indigenous people from ancestral land ruled illegal

In a landmark decision, an African regional body has found the Kenyan government guilty of violating the rights of the country’s indigenous Endorois community, by evicting them from their lands to make way for a wildlife reserve.

The decision, by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, creates a major legal precedent by recognising, for the first time in Africa, indigenous peoples’ rights over traditionally owned land and their right to development.

The decision was adopted by the African Commission in May 2009 and approved by the African Union (AU) at its January 2010 meeting in Addis Ababa.

Endorois land was originally appropriated by the Kenyan government in the 1970s to create the Lake Bogoria National Reserve.

The complaint was lodged with the African Commission in 2003, claiming that the Kenyan government had violated the African Charter by failing to recognise and protect the Endorois’ ancestral land rights and refusing to compensate the community adequately or grant restitution of their land.

“We are delighted that the African Commission has recognised the wrong that was done decades ago,” says Wilson Kipsang Kipkazi, of the Endorois Welfare Council (EWC). “This decision is the result of a sustained campaign for the recognition of the Endorois as a distinct indigenous community and the restoration of our ancestral land.”

The historic decision comes at a time when Kenya is in the midst of implementing constitutional, electoral, and land reforms, meant to strengthen social and ethnic inclusion and stem a repeat of the 2007 post-election violence that left hundreds dead and property destroyed.

In another first for Africa, the Commission also found that in failing to provide sufficient compensation, or provide suitable alternative land for grazing after the eviction of the Endorois, Kenya’s government fell short of adequately providing for the community in the development process.

“This sends a clear message that development must be equitable, non-discriminatory, participatory, accountable and transparent”, says Cynthia Morel, who litigated on behalf of the Endorois as former Senior Legal Advisor. “The ruling places an obligation upon States to treat indigenous peoples as active stakeholders rather than passive beneficiaries.”

The Endorois are a semi-nomadic indigenous community of approximately 60,000 people, who for centuries have earned their livelihoods from herding cattle and goats in the Lake Bogoria area of Kenya’s Rift Valley.

When tourists flock to the Lake Bogoria National Reserve they have little idea of the high cost the Endorois have paid for their eviction. The vast majority of the community live in severe poverty, have little or no electricity, walk miles to collect water in an area stricken by drought, and are consistently dependent on relief food.

Since the creation of the wildlife reserve, the Endorois have been unable to gather the plants they once relied on for medicinal purposes, conduct religious ceremonies at their sacred sites or visit the graves of their ancestors.

The decision as precedent is believed to have far reaching implications on many cases, where post-colonial African governments did not redress the issues, claims and grievances the indigenous nations of Africa have.

"From Somalia to Namibia and from Western Sahara to Tanzania, we hopefully will see now that finally justice and humanity have a chance to uplift the First Nations of Africa and the minority peoples held hostage by post-colonial governments all over Africa," a spokeswoman of ECOTERRA Intl. stated.

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