Personal story
written by Nekessa , April 10, 2007

Recently, a Sabaot gentleman approached me with the true story on the Mt. Elgon clashes. Unfortunately, he has disappeared! I hope to find him soon so that he can give a first account of what is going on there.

More info on conflict roots
written by aeichener , April 10, 2007

The Kenyan media - as wont - have done a stellar job of misinformation about the Mt. Elgon conflict, what were its roots, and what it is about. Only the Standard has recently made an exception. Instead of drinking muddied water, I suggest to go upstream and to drink from the source.

Firstly, the Ogiek website contains numerous articles on the Mt. Elgon clashes and its roots, e.g. by Yator Kiptum.

http://www.ogiek.org

and e.g. here:
http://www.ogiek.org/news-1/news-post-07-03-3.htm

http://www.ogiek.org/news-1/news-post-07-04-1.htm

A more thorough report (82 pages!) on the situation of indigenous peoples also in the Mt. Elgon region, can be found here. Click through the website until you come to "writing samples" and choose the first topic from the pull-down menu there.

http://www.schmidt-soltau.de/english/index.htm

Alexander

More info
written by aeichener , April 10, 2007

Aha. Let me quote from a recent press release by Kobei/Cheruiyot:
"That the ongoing conflict is not between Soy and Mosop as portrayed by a section of the Mt. Elgon Politicians who feed the media with erroneous information, but it is between the Pok and the minority Chepkitale (Ogiik/Ogiek) community."


And here is an excerpt from the aforementioned report by Schmidt-Soltau:

Elgon is a swahilization deriving from "Ol Doinyo Ilgoon" a Maa-term, which means “mountain shaped like a human breast”. The significance of the forests on Mt. Elgon to Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework for the WKCDD/FM & NRM – Final Report 22 the Ogiek communities living within the catchment cannot be over-emphasized as the livelihoods of most people revolve traditionally around forest resources. In 1973 the GoK resettled all Ogiek, who were living in the forests and the proposed national park, to the Chepyuk resettlement site at the slopes of Mt. Elgon and cleared this area of all forests to foster agricultural production. Initially, this site was reserved for the resettled 600 Ogiek households but as they did not receive land titles and/or assistance to protect their land against land grabbers from other ethnic groups in the early 90ties around 7,500 households were living in the resettlement site. After the new government took over a vetting process was carried out to identify the rights and land-use areas of the people in the resettlement site and an agreement achieved that half of the Chepyuk resettlement site should be inhabited by the Ogiek and half of it by other ethnic groups. 1733 Ogiek households received letters of allotment for 5 ha each, while those Ogiek which could not document that they are descendants of the original resettlers were not receiving any land. Due to that, the perception of the Ogiek on this process is divided:

Those which received land are quite satisfied, while those who did not receive land ask why the government and the Ogiek chiefs agreed that half of the land initially provided to the Ogiek as compensation for the land and forest taken away for conservation measures were handed over to other ethnic groups. The Ogiek have access to the forest and are allowed to collect for a fee or KSh 40 one head-load of firewood per person per day and are allowed to cross the forest to graze their cattle in the grassland between the gazetted forest and the national park.

Around 300 households were not resettled in 1973 as they lived and live at the upper forest fringes and in the grasslands between the gazetted and protected forest and the national park. Initially the NRM project wanted to resettle these indigenous peoples from the highlands and into the Chepyuk resettlement site, but as resettling indigenous peoples are most likely to result in their impoverishment, this option has been ruled out.
A key problem in the area is the extreme violence, which prevails the western parts of the resettlement site since the forest department evicted some 10.000 people from the gazetted forests near Chepaniare & Korunhoiny.

...
written by Timothy Wainaina , April 11, 2007

Next time I hear someone saying Diaspora I will shoot them!! WTF!

This article is a cheap, emotional attempt to address this very important subject. Showing Nyachae 'red', his 'igloo'? Are you in class six? Historical beef? This sounds like an article in the Nation or Standard!

aeichener,
There have been innumerable such occasions where the powerful in Kenya have done everything in their power to rob the weak. It is almost our national past time, man on the ground? Kneel on his stomach, step on his neck.
That the other tribes encroached on land set aside for the Ogiek is part of this fabric, as is the fact that there are sections of the Ogiek, satisfied with their settlement who have now forgotten the plight of their kin. Sad state of affairs.

Expect now that the rebellion will be crushed by the rattlesnake, and the compromise will be even greater encroachment on forest land.

And God spake to the Snake
written by aeichener , April 11, 2007

Expect now that the rebellion will be crushed by the rattlesnake, and the compromise will be even greater encroachment on forest land.

It is the Easter Week now, and thus verily I say:

"They shall crush the head of the snake"
(Gen 3,14: the original Hebrew allows for the plural "they" as translation here)

Alexander

eminent domain
written by Tim Norwood , April 11, 2007

Are all the threads now turning religious?

aeichener,
You seem to know quite a lot about this subject. You should perhaps write an article on it.

but as resettling indigenous peoples are most likely to result in their impoverishment, this option has been ruled out.

Existing in isolation, this says close to nothing. Is a possible solution the government's repossessing of government land irregularly allocated in the area and its transfer to the displaced people from the upper forest regions.

In the end however, a sustainable and lasting solution is needed for Kenyan smallholders. Traditional farming will never serve any purpose other than to keep them alive. Kibbutzim anyone?

Old solutions
written by joe , April 11, 2007

The roots of these problems are old and the solutions that are being applied or attempted are even older; providing land and subdividing land as a solution for land problems is not a solution - it's a bad, terrible idea.

I propose the govt set up up a landless fund - a 50 years landless fund to provide economic support to the 'landless' and anyone who is willing to vacate uneconomical land which will be paid for by a tax on all land, perhaps a 1% land tax that will provide for some sort of welfare payments and education to the 'landless'

Land in Kenya is not finite - the cost of the land wars is much more expensive in financial, economic and productive terms than my proposal.

Very true.
written by Honey , April 12, 2007

Tim Norwood,
I agree, it is a cheaply written paper.

But you missed the point majorly.

The post was not intended to generate the history of the Ogiek, currently that is irrelevant. Knowing about their forefathers travels in kenya is of no help to their dying descendants.
The pain on the faces of the homeless old women on front pages of newspapers, as the govt takes more time.

It's sole role was to jerk readers out of their insensitivity into Action.

...
written by aeichener , April 12, 2007

Well said, Honey. I think it was good that Patience wrote it and that KI published it. For exactly the reasons you name.

Era of Terror
written by msanii4u , April 12, 2007

It is blood and more blood. The residents of Mount Elgon,in the Western province of Kenya watch in disbelief as this horrific tale unfolds. Over 60,000 people have been displaced and over 150 people already killed.The latest victim of the clashes is the brother to the Mount Elgon member of parliament,and planning assistant minister John Serut. Last week the MP was at loggerheads with other Rift Valley MPs, on the real situation of the clashes. He was accusing his fellow MPs of over exaggerating the situation on the ground.

The irony of the situation is that the government has declared the region to be safe and it is urging the residents to go back to their homes.

How do you expect unarmed women and children to go back and face the gun totting militia men who are out on a revenge?

Recent calls for resignation of the internal security minister have fallen on deaf ears. He came out boasting in the section of the press that the government cannot sack him and it is only him who has the answer to end the clashes but he cannot reveal.The minister has failed to offer security to the citizens of this country and so he should resign.With the escalating wave of crime sweeping over the country,his best has been to give a shoot to kill order.

What a shame? We do not want the police to kill criminals,but we want the criminals to be arrested and brought down to face justice.With thousands of police officers graduating every year,does it mean that the number is too small to contain crime in this country?

This is the election year and all we want the government to do is to offer protection to its citizens.We have our military personnel who wake up every morning and just brush their shoes.What is the use of allocating billions of tax payers money to the military,while the tax payers are being killed every day?

Can the government send this people down to Mount Elgon and let them quell this crisis once and for all.