The Kenya National Commission On Human Rights(KNCHR), has condemned the ongoing Ogiek evictions happening in Sasimwani and Nkatere.
The commission stated that the evictions are happening unlawfully and without prior profiling and identification of indigenous forest-dwelling communities.
KNCHR stated that the indigenous community has a right to occupy the forest according to the judgement issued by the African Court on Human Rights back in 2017 and 2022.
“It is deeply saddening that despite the 2017 and 2022 judgements of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights in the Ogiek of Mau case that, emphatically and unequivocally recognized ancestral land rights in the Ogiek with rights to among others use and occupy the Mau forest, members of the Ogiek community have not been spared,” the commission stated.
The commission emphasized that the ongoing evictions of the native Ogiek community from the Mau forest, are ill-advised and counterbalance the rights of the community under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
Further the commission stressed that the government should immediately implement the African court judgement and shutter the evictions, and in exceptional circumstances, the evictions must be carried out lawfully and in a humane nature.
“Where evictions are inevitable, and only in exceptional circumstances, they must be carried out lawfully and in full compliance with relevant provisions of national law and international human rights principles and standards,” the commission stated.
The eviction, which started on November 2, saw the demolition of houses, schools and places of worship.
Consequently, the exercise left several victims homeless, exposed to the cold weather, and without any source of livelihood.
The eviction’s timing enormously affected candidates who are expected to siting for the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations in the area.
