Human rights activists have condemned the Kenyan government for the evictions of Ogiek Community members in Mau Forest.
More than 700 men, women, and children have been displaced after the government announced that they must leave, in order to secure forest land.
Families woke up to the shocking reality of their homes being brought down by government officers believed to be from the Kenya Forest Service and the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Activists have castigated the evictions and started campaigns to petition for the end of the forceful removal.
In June 2022, the African court ordered that the government restitute land belonging to the Ogiek Community by demarcating and titling the land so as to clarify which areas of the Mau forest traditionally belong to the community.
The court determined that the community must be protected from further violations and that the community must legally own the land.
More than a year later, the Ogiek people await to see the state affect the judgments of the African court.
Standing beside rubble with their possessions scattered about, the community members decried the atrocities meted upon them.
“We don’t know where to go. This is our end, we don’t know anywhere else. Where will we take our children?” one woman stated as she wiped tears.
“We tried to appeal to the officers to let us remove our items but they refused and continued demolishing. Right now we are outside, it’s raining and we do not know the way forward,” lamented another.
“Even though Ogiek won the case, we are still mistreated. We appeal to the Kenyan government to remember us as a community,” she added.
The Ogiek community wants the Mau Forest land demarcated as per the court order so that the government can conserve the rest.
