National elections were held in Kenya on March 4th putting into place a new biometric voter registration technology, aiming to prevent falsification of ballots. The country's last election saw falsification of voter registration that led to 1.2 million votes cast by people actually deceased. The technology, which uses photographs and fingerprinting to identify voters, was created and sold to Kenya by the Canadian government for a total cost of US $7.2 million.
The grassroots parliamentary campaign for Maasai land and human rights activist, Meitamei Olol Dapash, continues to thrive and grow throughout Maasailand, Kenya, but needs help to see victory in the polls on March 4th! Meitamei is the founder and Director of the Maasai Environmental Resource Coalition since 1987 and leader of the suit for the return of 30,000 acres of ancestral land at Mau Narok to the Maasai community, due to be heard in Kenyan court next month.
In a major step for Samburu communities battling for their land rights in Laikipia, Kenya, a judge handling the case was found unfit to continue serving in the judiciary after the community filed an application for his recusal. He was sent home the last week of 2012.
The community accused the judge of the following counts of bias:
On June 12th through 14th, a lawsuit brought by the Samburu Indigenous People of Kenya against the US NGO African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and the Kenya government institution, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), has a hearing at the high court in Nyeri, Kenya.
The Samburu's legal case against the African Wildlife Foundation and the Kenya Wildlife Service is gaining more attention in the regional press, with reporting coming from AfricaNews on Tuesday. The article reported on the issue after peaceful demonstations were held by the Samburu last week to protest the continuous and unjustified harassment by police. See the article here.
First Peoples Worldwide announced a grant of $7,000 that will enable Samburu leaders to train community members in human rights law and prepare them to more effectively defend their rights. See their press release below summarizing the urg
Yesterday a Kenyan court recognized the transfer of title to the property known as Eland Downs, from the African Wildlife Foundation to the Kenya Wildlife Service, the government agency that manages Kenya’s national park system. The decision is disputed by Samburu people who were evicted from the property last year when former president Daniel arap Moi sold it to the African Wildlife Foundation. In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, the African Wildlife Foundation transferred title to the property to the Kenya Wildlife Service to create a new Laikipia National Park.
A report by the Transparency International released Thursday ranks Kenya 154 out of 182 countries that were surveyed on the Corruption Perception Index. Their overall score improved only a fraction of a percent from last year, despite a zero-tolerance campaign by the current government administration in Kenya.
Two Samburu elders who were beaten and arrested during a week of police violence against the Samburu people in Laikipia, Kenya, have been released. Police also released the Samburu people’s cows, goats, and sheep that survived last week’s police round-up and impoundment. Samburu people report, however, that many of their animals were lost in the bush during the chaotic police round-up or possibly attacked by wild animals. Police were also seen roasting and eating some of the livestock.
A Samburu community’s fight to retain their land and grazing rights on a property known variably as Kisargei, Elan Downs, or Kabarak Farm in Kenya’s Laikipia district turned violent over the weekend as Kenyan police attacked the community, killing at least one Samburu elder and confiscating the community’s cows and goats, an estimated 10,000 animals.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
