FORCEFUL EVICTIONS OF
MAASAI FROM NARASHA A RECIPE FOR TRIBAL CLASHES IN KENYA.
Kenya was at it again last Friday the 26th
October when a land ownership dispute that has lasted the last 33 years pitting
the Maasai and Kikuyu in Naivasha took an ugly turn. Reminiscent of the Post
Elections Violence of 007/2008, over 200 youths believed to be members of the
proscribed sect Mungiki under the escort of heavily armed police men descended
on the Maasai community in Narasha with all manner of crude weapons burning and destroying 240 houses.
The arsonists who were protected by the armed police rendered 2,300 people
homeless, killed over 20 calves and over 600 lambs. During the raid 2 elderly
Maasai men sustained bullet wounds as well as cuts from machetes and are recuperating
in hospitals
Narasha is home and ancestral land of the Maasai who have
suffered massive land dispossession dating back to the 1900 when the colonial
government forced the Maasai out of 75 % of their ancestral land and subsequent
post-independence government driven initiatives that have continued to alienate
land from the Maasai. The tussle for ownership is as a result of ownership of
the over 15,000 Acre land that the Maasai claim ancestral ownership but the
Kikuyu claim ownership resulting from an allocation by the first post-
independence president Jomo Kenyatta who happens to be the father of the
current president.
The bone of contention is the land is rich with geothermal
power and government functionaries want to make a kill by displacing the
Maasai. Narasha village is sitting on a lucrative geothermal power
potential and a combination of senior government officials, businessmen and
energy giant KenGen are all involved in making sure the Maasai people are moved
away from the area. The Geothermal project has attracted both multi-national
and bilateral donors with the World Bank being the main financier of the
project.
The forces behind the inhuman act are
Kenya’s energy generating giant, KenGen is undeniably at the center of
the problems facing the Maasai people in Olkaria.The company has embarked on a
new geothermal power push that will add 560 megawatts of power to the Kenya’s
national grid. This is so far the largest geothermal project in the world. The
Ksh165 billion (US$2 billion) projects will require expansion beyond the
current land that KenGen’s wells occupy in Olkaria. Narasha community is at the
middle of the areas earmarked for the new geothermal wells. KenGen has for the
last few years been negotiating with the Maasai in Olkaria on issues of
compensation and relocation. Not all is going well with this process. There are
big trust issues between the parties.
Ngati Farm is
a company owned by the Kikuyu from central Kenya who claims
to have bought farm from colonialists in 1964. The company and the Maasai have
for the last 33 years been fighting court battles. The Maasai have called the
land home for the last 400 years. With the recent push by KenGen for geothermal
power generation, the land is worth billions of shillings and the stakes are
higher for both parties.
Leading the
pack behind the evictions is Eddy Njoroge, the
former Managing Director of KenGen and currently President Kenyatta’s advisor
on energy and petroleum is closer to the Maasai-Olkaria troubles than anyone
else. He knows the potential of the resources on the ground but also knows the
ability of the community to fight back. Sources claim that he is planning to
buy the disputed Narasha land from Ngati Farm as long as the Maasai problem is
brought to an end. Njoroge is also said to be closely associated with a tender
by KenGen that will see another geothermal plant developed at Narasha.
The Governor of Nakuru Kinuthia
Mbugua is said to be the mastermind of the Enarasha attack as well as
another attack in the past. The former Administration Police Commissioner has a
long history of hostility with the Maasai in Naivasha. He claims to be a member
of Ngatia Farm, the company in the centre of the historical dispute for this
Maasai ancestral land. The Maasai were still living in the area and were never
consulted. Kinuthia is said to be personally interested in a piece of land
currently being occupied by the family of Odupoi ole Parsitau and has
approached the family with a Ksh2 million price and asked them to move away. Ole
Parsitau declined the offer. After being elected as Governor, sources say
Kinuthia has vowed to remove the Maasai from Nakuru County. He is said to be
planning evictions in Kedong Ranch – another historically disputed area. Governor
Mbugua will be a big beneficiary of KenGen’s projects.
Amos Gathecah,
the new Nakuru County Commissioner is Governor Mbugua’s foot soldier. He has
been used as a go-between in negotiations with Enarasha community. Gathecah recently held a meeting with leaders
from Narasha at Nashipae Hotel in Naivasha and offered Ksh31 million so that
the community can relocate from the area. The offer was declined and he made a
threat that he will use the same money to fight the community and force them to
leave the area. This meeting was triggered by a June 19 petition by the
community to the National Land Commission on the dispute with Ngatia Farm. The
Commission started investigations that will delay the plans for generation of
Geothermal Power in the area.
Helen Kiilu led dozens of policemen to
support Governor Mbugua’s hired goons in attacking Narasha. Ms. Kiilu takes
orders from Commissioner Gathecah.
Former
Councilor Ole Linti, a former area councilor is said to have changed
allegiance in exchange of a share in Ngati farm or the proceeds from the KenGen
deals. Ole Linti has a long history of fighting for the community against Ngati
Farm and KenGen. He is said to have run out of steam after many years of
struggle.
While the government denies knowledge
of the evictions, the presence of the police and the manner in which the raids
were carried out is indicative of a well-executed plan with backing from state
machinery.
Ben Ole Koissaba.
PhD Student in International Family and
Community Studies at Clemson University, SC and Founder Chair, Maa Civil
Society Forum, Kenya
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