The expelled and marginalised Ogiek community is in limbo and the future does not look bright.
It is waiting to see if the Kenyan government will let them return to the Mau complex and other areas if they agree to a strict contract to help manage forest resources in their ancestral lands with traditional knowledge.
The indigenous people have the African Court on Human and People's Rights on their side, and many NGOs.
"The Ogiek community has never at any point destroyed forest resources," spokesman Paul Sang said.
He said the community has a council of elders who provide day-to-day advice to the community on living harmoniously with and protecting the forest.
The community has suffered following the repeated evictions and some have already lost their identity, he said.
On May 26, 2017, the African Court on Human and People’s Rights ruled that Kenya should not have expelled Ogieks from their ancestral lands in the Mau Forest and elsewhere.
It said the state should not have sold the Ogiek’s crops. In 2022 it ordered compensation and restoration of land.
Kenya has not yet complied with the court ruling. The state has said the Ogiek settlements have destructive tendencies.
The Ogiek spokesman said the community does not have one of their own in the government as they continue to be sidelined.
Suleiman Burgei reinforced Sang’s sentiments, saying the community no longer has access to benefits such as herbs, which were crucial in maintaining their health.
“We used to get honey which we would mix with herbs,” Burgei said.
He said following their removal from the forest, people with ‘greed’ have taken over forest resources.
The community’s commitment to conserve the forest comes at a time the state plans to grow 15 billion trees in 10 years for Sh600 billion.
This means that each year, the budget is approximately Sh60 billion.
The 15 billion tree campaign translates to 30 trees per Kenyan per year, over the next 10 years.
The state hopes that by 2032, the country’s tree cover will have hit 30 per cent, up from the current 12.13 per cent.
The forest cover increased from 5.9 per cent in 2018 to 8.83 per cent in 2021, while the national tree cover stands at 12.13 per cent above the constitutional target of 10 per cent.
Results generated from the National Forest Resources Assessment 2021, show that the country has 12,914,201 acres (5,226,191.79 hectares) of national forest cover, representing 8.83 per cent of the total area.
The Ogiek community teamed up with state agencies and is now protecting Lainguise wetland. To them, every forest remains their home, and they have the right to live and practice their way of life there.
The indigenous minority Ogiek, who are hunters and gatherers, want the Kenyan government and other stakeholders to recognise, respect and affirm these inherent rights
The community has already developed a Bio-Cultural Protocol, clearly stating who they are, where they live, their relationship with forests, such as the Mau Forest Complex, and their land, and associated traditional knowledge; rights over natural resources in the Mau and their responsibility to protect and conserve it.
The community uses the protocol as a tool to safeguard their rights and traditional knowledge and resources by providing clear terms and conditions to regulate access to their assets and sharing benefits that accrue from any development of those assets.
Their estimated population with reference to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census report is 52,000 and they mainly inhabit the Mau Forest Complex and the Mt Elgon Forest.
About 30,000 members of the community live in the Mau Forest Complex. The rest live in the forested areas of Mount Elgon, at Chepkitale.
The community has all along accused the state of continually removing them from their ancestral land.
The state has, however, been adamant that they must leave the area saying settlements have destructive tendencies.
The eviction of the community has prompted them to pursue justice domestically and regionally at the human rights system of the African Union.
In November 2009, the community took the state to the African Court on Human and People’s Rights.
On May 26, 2017, the Court made a historic ruling after finding the government of Kenya had violated the right to life, property, natural resources, development, religion and culture of the Ogieks, under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
On June 23, 2022, the Court issued a reparation judgment in favour of the community, outlining in detail the steps that the state must take to compensate the Ogiek for the human rights violations they have suffered.
The Court acted so the state would recognise, respect, protect and consult the Ogiek in accordance with their traditions and customs, on all matters concerning development, conservation, or investment in their lands.
The court ordered the government of Kenya to pay compensation of Sh57,850,000 for material prejudice for loss of property and natural resources.
Further, the court ordered the state to pay Sh100 million for moral prejudice suffered by the Ogiek due to violations of the right to non-discrimination, freedom of religion, culture and development.
In addition, the court ordered non-monetary reparations, including the restitution of Ogiek ancestral lands and full recognition of the Ogiek as indigenous peoples.
Specifically, the Court required the Kenyan Government to undertake delimitation, demarcation, and titling to protect Ogiek rights to property revolving around occupation, use and enjoyment of the Mau Forest and its resources.
The Court also ordered Kenya to take necessary legislative, administrative or other measures to recognise, respect and protect the right of the Ogiek to be consulted with regard to development, conservation or investment projects in their ancestral lands.
It also ordered the Ogiek community be granted the right to give or withhold their free and informed consent to these projects to ensure minimal damage to their survival.
Most of these orders are yet to be complied with despite the state committing to abide by the rule of law. The court has no enforcement powers.
As the community waits for the state to comply with the Court’s ruling, it has made an appeal that they be given communal title as part of the implementation of the African Court’s decision.
Ogiek People’s Development Programme Executive Director Daniel Kobei said the move will protect the parcel of land from unnecessary disposal by the community.
“We had proposed that the community land be given as per counties so that they can easily be managed,” Kobei said.
Kobei said the community has proposed to have 10 community titles in areas where the community is found.
He cited areas such as Eastern Mau, Narok North and South, Uasin Gishu County, Nandi, Koibatek, and Kipkelion.
Kobei said the move will ensure once the court’s decision is implemented, the community will manage themselves well and avoid squabbles.