guardian.co.uk,
Clar Nichonghaile in Nairobi and David Smith in Johannesburg, Wednesday 14
December 2011
 |
| The pastoralist Samburu have reported constant harassment from police with women allegedly raped and animals seized. Photograph: Zhao Yingquan/Xinhua |
Members of
the Samburu people in Kenya have been abused, beaten and raped by police after
the land they lived on for two decades was sold to two US-based wildlife
charities, a rights group and community leader have alleged.
The dispute
centres on Eland Downs in Laikipia, a lush area near Mount Kenya. At least
three people are said to have died during the row, including a child who was
eaten by a lion after the Samburu were violently evicted in November last year.
The
London-based NGO Survival International said the Samburu were evicted following
the purchase of the land by two American-based charities, the Nature Conservancy and the African Wildlife Foundation.
The groups
subsequently gifted the land to Kenya for a national park, to be called
Laikipia National Park.
Survival
International said the land was officially owned by former president Daniel
arap Moi, although AWF simply said it bought it from a private landowner.
With
nowhere to go, around 2,000 Samburu families stayed on the edge of the disputed
territory, living in makeshift squats, while 1,000 others were forced to
relocate, Survival said.
Jo Woodman,
a campaigner for Survival, said the pastoralist Samburu had reported constant
harassment from police with women allegedly raped, animals seized and an elder
shot as recently as last month.
"There
has been an ongoing, constant level of fear, intimidation and violence towards
the community, which has been devastating," Woodman said.
A community
leader, who did not wish to be named, described police harassment as enormous.
He said police beat people, burned manyattas or traditional homesteads and
carried out arbitrary arrests during the period leading up to and including the
eviction last year. He said they also confiscated many animals and the intimidation
has continued.
"The
situation has been really bad for a long time," he said. "[The
Samburu] have nothing. Things like bedding and utensils were burned."
Kenyan
police were not available on Wednesday to comment on the allegations.
Survival
has written to the UN appealing for urgent action to put an end to the violence
and provide assistance to the Samburu, who have gone to court to establish
their right to the land.
"In
one incident, a Samburu elder was shot dead by paramilitaries," the group
said in its letter to the UN committee on the elimination of racial
discrimination, dated 7 December.
"The
displaced community has nothing but their livestock, thousands of which were
impounded – with no reason given – on 25 November 2011. This is an urgent and
serious violation of the rights of this community, which has been left
squatting beside its land with no amenities," Survival's letter said.
The two
conservation groups gifted the 17,100 acres to Kenya's government in November
to create a national park to be run by the Kenya Wildlife Service.
However,
since then a court has banned the KWS from proceeding with the conservation
project until a ruling on the Samburus' legal case.
Both
US-based charities indicated they were watching the situation with concern but
were unable to comment for legal reasons.
John
Butler, director of marketing for the AWF, said: "The African Wildlife
Foundation does not condone violence. AWF has a longstanding history of working
closely with local communities to ensure that conservation solutions benefit
both people and wildlife. Unfortunately, we cannot comment at length on this
issue due to a pending court case in Kenya."
Blythe
Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy, said: "The conflict over
natural resources across Africa is a serious issue. Everywhere we work in
Africa, we're working with local communities to address natural resource
issues. We're closely monitoring this situation; unfortunately we can't comment
at length due to a pending court case in Kenya."
Kenya has a
history of land-grabbing by senior government officials, particularly during
Daniel arap Moi's time in power. Land disputes are common as legal documents of
ownership are often missing or have been forged.
A request
for comment from Kenya's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife went unanswered.
However the minister, Dr Noah Wekesa, was quoted as telling parliament last
month that KWS had ceased all activity on the land, which would not be gazetted
as a national park until the other legal case was resolved.
The
Samburu's legal case was heard in the town of Nyeri on Wednesday and lawyer
Korir Sing'Oei said the court confirmed that the KWS had secured registration
of the land.
"The
court has turned a blind eye to the pleas of the Samburu community and allowed
these illegalities to subsist," he said. "The transfer [of the land
to the KWS] is totally unlawful and it's in flagrant violation of the interests
of the Samburu community."
The court
had agreed to give further direction on the matter in January.
Korir
Sing'Oei said he intended to address the violations of rights in a separate
case.
"Last
year, when the community was forcefully evicted from the land ... their homes
were burnt down and livestock confiscated in their hundreds and lots of their
women were violated," he said.
"Given
the powerful actors who have vested interests in the land, this issue has been
really hushed up in the local media," he added.
The lawyer
said the evicted Samburu had no intention of leaving Laikipia, a popular
destination for wildlife-loving tourists and the area where Prince William
proposed to Kate Middleton in a rustic lodge.
"Where
would they go to? They have absolutely nowhere else to go," he said.
The
community elder said running away was not an option.
"That's
the place you call your home ... it's where you were brought up and where your
children call home. It's an ancestral land."
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