Forest evictions in Kenya :Balancing between conservation and human rightsby BONFACE OBUBA | 07-10-2018 22:36 |
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 The Mau is the most important water tower in the country. It is a source of 13 rivers, six of which feed Lake Victoria. It is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa covering about 273,300 hectares. But people had been duped into settling in the forest by unscrupulous politicians and business people throughout the years and in the process of time, they have diminished the forest cover. In 2009, the Water Tower Agency established that only 430 out of the 40, 000 settlers have genuine title deeds. Human rights issues There are allegations of human rights being violated in the eviction process. People are forced out and their houses burnt. There are also some cases of rape propagated by the security men. About 9 schools in that region have since been closed. The African Court on Human and Peoples? Rights ruled that the government of Kenya had violated the rights of Ogieks, indigenous peoples who dwell in the forest. "By expelling the Ogieks from their ancestral land against their will, without prior consultation and without respecting the conditions of expulsion in the interests of public need, the respondent (Kenyan government) violated the right to land," the court ruled. Political contest In 2008, the issue of the Mau became a heated political row between two of the most popular politicians in Kenya, Raila Odinga and William Ruto. It is unfortunate that critical national issues such as this are seen as opportunities for political arm-wrestling. But in this year's eviction dissenting voices were fewer because both the opposition and government leaders supported this undertaking(the evictions). The ministry of Forestry plans to rehabilitate the forest by fencing, establishing real-time surveillance and involving the local communities in the management of the forest. As it does this, however, human rights should be protected. We should draw a line between conservation and the violation of human rights. References https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-rights-ogiek/african-court-rules-kenya-violates-forest-peoples-land-rights-idUSKBN18M1ZC |
