African Woman and Child Feature Service

The day is cool with blue skies. Everything seems to be silent. From a distance, a heap of chaff from wheat plantation can be seen. Next to it, a herd of sheep are grazing peacefully.

This is Rose Farm, formerly known as Kasuku Farm, one among others that have sparked controversy over what locals call illegal transfer of ownership.

Dan Murume, a resident of Mau Narok for over 20 years, explains the plight of his community: “What we are asking is for the farm to be given back to its rightful owners who are the Maasai community. This land was taken from our forefathers under a special arrangement with the colonial powers. We expected to get it back after the (99 years) lease ended but this has not been the case.”

The piece of land under conflict was bought by the Government to resettle Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) based at Pipeline Camp, North of Nakuru town. However, this move did not go well with the local community and violence erupted in the area especially in Laikipia.

The locals were not going to let go easily as they had waited for a whole century to have their land back and were shocked that it was sold to another group of people.

According to the Maasai, the current Government is not the only one to blame as this land dispute has its roots in historical injustices.

Maurice Amollo, programme officer with Mercy Corps in Eldoret sheds more light on this: “When the country gained independence, the colonial government handed over all land to the new government with the view that all those who had been displaced including Maasai in Laikipia would be compensated.”

However, the post-colonial government came up with a new capitalist approach that did not put into consideration the locals.

“The approach changed and it became: willing buyer and willing seller. Loans were given out depending on who one knew. The result was that a few well connected individuals ended up buying the land, while the Maasai community, who considered this their ancestral land got nothing,” explains Amollo.

The Mau Narok land taken over by the colonial powers covered over 30,000 acres. It was subdivided into smaller portions after independence. Today, the land has major farms which include: Sansora Farm (13,000 acres) is alleged to belong to Simeon Nyachae, Muthera Farm (over 5,000 acres) is claimed to belong to the late Mbiyu Koinange, Kathumbe Farm (approximately 4,000 acres) claimed to belong to Dr Kathumbe, Kashembe Farm (over 800 acres) is owned by a group known as Kikuyu farmers and Mwangi Farm (over 800 acres) is said to belong to a former district commissioner during the Moi regime.

The community has been suffering a lot from the loss of this land as 84-year-old Mzee Tajeu Matai reminisces: “We were forced out of our best land onto a space that is rife with disease and subjected to drought. We were denied schools and clinics which were made available to more urbanised Kenyans. We watched helplessly as our cattle died in dry seasons and faced starvation ourselves in those times.”

Despite all these life challenges, the Maasai are still determined to hold onto their culture and the opportunity to regain a piece of their ancestral land. They want to build a future in order to move beyond the perpetual struggle to survive.

Matai is one of the Maasai who was recently arrested for participating in what was termed ‘illegal protest’. The Maasai were protesting the purchase of over 2,400 acres of land by the Government for resettlement of IDPs from Pipeline Camp. These are IDPs who are part of the 250 families that were given land by the Government in the controversial Mau Narok complex for resettlement.

“What we are asking is why the Government is giving people from other places our rightful land yet we are landless just like them? Or is it that they are more Kenyans than us?” posed Matai. He added: “We do not have issues with IDPs, what we want is for our 33,000 acres of land to be returned just like our agreement with the British stipulated.”

Joseph ole Kibila, a land activist and peace keeper in Mau Narok, says there is more to the resettlement exercise that the community is worried about.

“We as a community attach so much significance to our culture and we see the move to bring another community with a different culture and plunge them in our midst as a threat. We do not know the values, customs and beliefs they practice and we believe they will dilute our culture,” explained Kibila.

Following continuous feuds over the land in question, the Government decided to stop the resettlement exercise and promised locals that the land will be used for research purposes.

Some would think that this idea was to be received with enthusiasm but in reality, locals were sceptical about the idea due to what they termed as the past history of such a project.

“We are against this move by the Government to divert this land for research purposes. History does not lie. We gave the Government over 600 acres of land some time back for research purposes in Mau but surprisingly, the project never went beyond three years as the entire land was sold secretly. What will prevent them from doing the same?” posed Noukuta Karia, a father of eight who has lived in Mau Narok since childhood.

Njoro District Commissioner, Jimmy Njoka, when reached through phone was not able to comment on the matter.

“Issues of the resettlement of IDPs and the saga surrounding it are beyond my mandate as a commissioner. All the matters are being directed at the national level,” explained Njoka on phone.

According to one of the many informed sources among the Maasai, Meitamei Olol Dapash, the struggle for the community is to reclaim the land they believe belongs to them.

“It is clear that the justice system of this country is on trial … For our part, this case is the beginning of a new dawn for the Maasai people and nothing will stop us from using whatever we have to make sure it is not trivialised or corrupted,” observed Meitamei.

In January last year, 52 petitioners representing the Maasai community filed a suit case at the High Court hoping this move would enable them reclaim the 30,000 acres that was taken away from them in the early years of the 20th Century.

The owners of the land in question responded by hiring 14 lawyers in their defence. The verdict is expected later this year. This example shows how historical injustices emerge in present times.