Wamuzi News Ke
The Environment and Land Court has ruled in favor of the government to carry out the forced relocations in Narok County, which was a great legal defeat for the opponents. The Court’s decision, which was given on Tuesday, has brought closer the day when the residents will be displaced and has drawn new concern among the pastoralist communities and human rights defenders.
The environmental and land court was the venue for the legal fight of the main opposition, which was a coalition of residents and civil society organizations, which claimed that the eviction orders served earlier this year were not only wrong but also unconstitutional—being an infringement of the constitutional right to fair administrative action—and that the government had no proper resettlement plans in place.
The petitioners requested the court to temporarily restrain the government and the enforcement agencies from executing any orders for eviction until the substantive case was fully heard.
In a very brief ruling, the judges stated that the petitioners had not succeeded in showing that there would be irreparable harm caused or that the eviction orders would be so contrary to rights that the courts could not intervene to back the petitioners at this point in time.
Moreover, the Court made it clear that issues of land ownership and management in the Mara ecosystem are regulated by legal statutes that must be adhered to.
The Mara Triangle, a super important area for wildlife conservation worldwide and an integral part of the larger Maasai Mara ecosystem, has been in the midst of a growing conflict regarding land use, pastoralists’ grazing rights, and conservation priorities.
Those against the evictions claim that government actions could lead to the uprooting of weak families, community livelihoods could be disrupted, and inter-ethnic tensions could be aggravated, whereas the government maintains that the enforcement is required for the sustainability of the ecosystem and the revenue from tourism.
Immediately after the ruling, local leaders and residents reacted by showing astonishment and disappointment, forecasting that the ruling will lead to a crisis in human rights if the eviction procedures start without sufficient protection measures or explicit relocation plans.
Human rights activists have given a hint about the upcoming appeal to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the lower court’s view of constitutional protections was very strict and did not capture the urgency of possible displacement.
The government officials, on the other hand, viewed the decision as a confirmation of the land management policy adopted so far and as a step towards restoring order in the Mara Triangle.
They argue that the residents who got eviction notices do have their resettlement discussions taking place through existing compensation frameworks. With the standoff already tense and eviction orders now backed up legally at the High Court, the next days might be crucial in shaping one of the most contrasting land disputes in Kenya.
