Endorois people’s rights upheld — hope for Samburu

On Thursday, February 4th, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights — based in Gambia —  upheld a long-standing claim by the Endorois people of Central Kenya and Lake Borgoria against the Kenyan government. In 1973, the GoK (that’s Government of Kenya for those unfamiliar with this abbreviation) drove the Endorois away from the shores of their fertile and, unfortunately for them, picturesque lake with its hot springs, pink flamingos and wild game and enticed tourists in their place. The GoK also drove the Endorois away from the center of their spiritual life, the graves of their ancestors and the rich pasture for grazing their cattle and goats. They were forced into arid lands to watch their cattle die and to rely instead on international aid packages for survival. The GOK repeatedly turned down their requests to return and also to be compensated for their severe losses.

But this past week, the African Commission made a landmark ruling: the first of its kind in Africa to recognize the rights of an indigenous people to live on their ancestral lands, control its wealth and be compensated for any losses. The ruling adds considerably to the pressure that the GoK has been receiving internationally, from the US government to the United Nations, to respond to land claims and treat its people fairly.

And so, the Samburu, being stolen from, raped and murdered by the GoK’s police force, have some hope for the future. Not the immediate future, no and alas, but long term the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights should weaken the grasping fingers of the covetous Government of Kenya, as it tries to strike the Samburu aside with one hand and dip its fingers into oil with the other.

To read about the decision, see  the Human Rights Watch’s details report at

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/02/04/kenya-landmark-ruling-indigenous-land-rights

or the Voice of American’s

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Kenyan-Government-Ordered-to-Return-Land-to-Indigenous-People—-83640137.html

Interestingly, I couldn’t find details of the African Commission’s decision in any English language Kenyan paper on line.