In Nairobi, more than 100 Maasai protestors this week demanded the return of land leased to British settlers 100 years ago. The land, now occupied by white settlers and Kenyan farmers, is the traditional land of the Maasai. The original lease of 100 hectares expired August 15, but the Kenyan government has said it does not recognize the colonial-era agreement and is under no obligation to follow it. The demonstrators were met with resistance from Nairobi police officers clad in riot gear who called them illegal and used tear gas to disperse the protestors.
Prior to the protests, Kenyan police shot and killed a 70-year-old Maasai man who was grazing his cattle on a white-owned farm, reported the BBC. This incident has not deterred the Masasai, who continue to tear down electrical fencing that rings white-owned farms in order to graze their herds on land they claim is their own.
