Legal Empowerment Training for Kenya’s Ogiek indigenous community
- International Lawyers Project
- Dec 15, 2024
- 2 min read
Situation
The Ogiek have lived since time immemorial in Kenya’s Mau Forest, and are the custodians of the environment on which they depend. However, they have been routinely subjected to arbitrary forced evictions from their ancestral land by the Kenyan Government, without consultation or compensation. These evictions and the refusal to allow them access to their spiritual home has prevented the Ogiek from engaging in their traditional cultural and religious practices. The Ogiek took their case to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which issued two judgments in their favour. The first judgment, delivered in 2017, found that the Kenyan government had violated their rights to property and natural resources and recognised the Mau Forest as their ancestral land which should be returned to them. It also ruled that the preservation of the Mau Forest does not justify the Ogiek’s eviction. The second judgment, delivered in 2022, sought to repair the harm caused to the community. Emphasising the role of the Kenyan government in ensuring implementation of the 2017 ruling, the African Court ordered the Kenyan government to take various steps, including restituting Ogiek land, through a system of demarcation and titling, and paying them compensation. The ruling also emphasised the need to build systems that ensure the recognition of the Ogiek and that the violations are not repeated. Some years later, both rulings remain to be implemented.
ILP’s Action
ILP conducted a week-long legal empowerment training for the Ogiek community which focused on improving the legal literacy of the Ogiek Council of Elders and the Ogiek Supervisory Committee, as they seek implementation of the rulings. The training also sought to enhance community representatives’ negotiation and advocacy skills, equipping them with the necessary skills to engage with the government and seek respect of their rights.
Impact
The legal empowerment training enhanced the capacity of the Ogiek to defend their land rights and natural resources, enabling them to better defend themselves, negotiate their rights, participate in discussions regarding their land, and hold decision-makers accountable to upholding the African Court’s rulings. Since the training, Ogiek community members have developed specific advocacy plans and engaged in increased advocacy meetings at both national and local levels, although lack of political will at the highest level has continued to hampered implementation efforts.