Tanzania, siding with UAE firm, plans to evict Maasai from ancestral lands

[Mshana Jr]

2022

- In northern Tanzania, more than 70,000 Indigenous Maasai residents are once again facing eviction from ancestral lands as the government reveals plans to lease the land to a UAE-based company to create a wildlife corridor for trophy hunting and elite tourism.

 

[Mwana wa Nuru]

This reminds me of Stan Katabalo and Mfanyakazi newspaper, beating the heading," Loliondo gate".

 

[Micho]

Aisee kumbe hawa watu wamekosa ubinadamu kiasi hiki?
Hapana kwa kweli kila mtu aishi kwenye ardhi aliyorithishwa na Babu zake.

JPM alisema baadhi ya uozo wa nchi uliokuwa unafanyika kuna vitu vingine alisema ni vigumu kuvisema akapiga nukta….sasa jiwe km yule aone ugumu kusema hilo jambo litakuwa sio la kitoto linaumiza sana…

Sasa hao wamasai wasimame imara km simba….

 

[Washawasha]

Wabongo misumari,viongozi nyundo
Nalog off

 

[M2WAWA2]

Hao waarabu wa OBC wanaibuka na harakati zao kutegemeana na rais aliyepo madarakani.
Walianza harakati zao hizo haramu wakati wa mwinyi. watu walipaza sauti wao wakashindwa.
awamu ya Mkapa walikaa kimyaaa
awamu ya Kikwete wakarudi tena na harakati zao hizo.
awamu ya Magufuri hawakujaribu kabisa.
awamu hii sasa, harakati zimeanza na eneo watapewa.

 

[Kamakabuzi]

Maasai acheni kuwapora ardhi hadi wanyama pori ! Maslahi ya watanzania wa vizazi vijavyo yazingatiwe

kwani hao maasai siyo kizazi cha watanzania?

 

[Kamakabuzi]

Hao waarabu wa OBC wanaibuka na harakati zao kutegemeana na rais aliyepo madarakani.
Walianza harakati zao hizo haramu wakati wa mwinyi. watu walipaza sauti wao wakashindwa.
awamu ya Mkapa walikaa kimyaaa
awamu ya Kikwete wakarudi tena na harakati zao hizo.
awamu ya Magufuri hawakujaribu kabisa.
awamu hii sasa, harakati zimeanza na eneo watapewa.

ina maana kuna udini ndani yake! Sitaki kuamini hivyo maana itakuwa hatari

 

[Wacha1]

Kuna wakati nashindwa kuelewa hili jambo, mwanzo kama sijasahau nakumbuka liliibuka mara ya kwanza wakati wa utawala wa Kikwete lakini baada ya Kikwete kuondoka madarakani haya mambo yakaisha.

Magufuli alipokuja na sera zake za uzalendo haya mambo ndio hayakusikika kabisa, ikawa kimya.

Leo amekuja huyu mama mwenye vinasaba na awamu ya Kikwete naona tena hii habari ya kuhamisha watu imerudi, kwanini nisiamini hawa masai wanataka kuhamishwa kwa maslahi ya wachache kwa ajili ya tamaa zao za miaka yote?

Hata kama sababu zinazotumiwa na serikali kuwahamisha wamasai ni sahihi kwamba wamasai wanatakiwa kuhama kwa kuwa population yao na mifugo yao imeongezeka, wanaharibu njia za wanyamapori, na mengineyo, lakini serikali itajitofautisha vipi na haya madai ya kutaka kuwapa waarabu ili wafanye biashara nao?

Naandika haya kwasababu inaonekana hii serikali ya Samia imerithi kila kitu kwa Kikwete mpaka tabia za upigaji kwa urefu wa kamba zao, kama wamasai wataondolewa pawepo na makubaliano kwamba hayo maeneo yao watakapoondoka hapatajengwa chochote.

Lakini kinyume na hapo hao wamasai watakuwa wanaonewa, nani asiyekumbuka mwishoni mwa utawala wa Kikwete alivyoitoa hii nchi kama sadaka mpaka waarabu wakatembea na silaha za moto na kuwatisha watu hovyo barabarani kama wao ndio wenye nchi?

Kwa hili tuseme hapana, tusikubali kurudishwa kule tulipotoka hata kama Samia hajui chochote kuhusu kuongoza nchi, lakini asichukue ujinga wa enzi za Kikwete na kuurudisha sasa, huku ni kuturudisha utumwani ndani ya nchi yetu.

JMK ni janga la kitaifa. Inakuwaje kila wakati analeta sokomoko. Wamasai watamshughulikia.

 

[KAPONGO]

By Laurel Sutherland on 18 February 2022

- In northern Tanzania, more than 70,000 Indigenous Maasai residents are once again facing eviction from ancestral lands as the government reveals plans to lease the land to a UAE-based company to create a wildlife corridor for trophy hunting and elite tourism.

- Maasai leaders have filed an appeal at a regional court, seeking a halt to all plans for the area and calling the renewed attempt to seize the land a blatant violation of an injunction that barred the government from evicting Maasai communities in a case that involved violent evictions.

- According to sources, the regional commissioner of the region told Maasai leaders that the leasing of the land is in the national interest to increase the country’s tourism revenue and was a tough decision for the government to make.

- Evicted residents from Loliondo will be relocated to the neighboring Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), where they will join another 80,000 evicted Maasai to share a strip of land designated for humans and wildlife.

In 2018, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) granted an injunction prohibiting the Tanzanian government from evicting Maasai communities from 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) of ancestral, legally registered land in the Loliondo division of Ngorongoro, northern Tanzania.

Today, 70,000 Maasai pastoralists are once again at risk of eviction after the government disclosed a plan to lease the same parcel of land to the Otterlo (sometimes spelled Ortello) Business Corporation (OBC), a company based in the United Arab Emirates, to create a wildlife corridor for trophy hunting and elite tourism.

OBC is a hunting firm said to be owned by the UAE royal family. According to the Oakland Institute, a policy think tank based in the U.S., OBC will control commercial hunting in the area. This is despite the company’s past involvement in several evictions of the Maasai people in the region and the killing of thousands of rare animals in the area, including lions and leopards.

Maasai residents protesting after Arusha’s Regional Commissioner John Mongella revealed plans to lease 1,500 square kilometers of ancestral land to United Arab Emirate (UAE) based Ortello Business Company. Image courtesy of Oakland Institute.​

The decision to lease the land to OBC was made known to Maasai leaders on Jan. 11, 2022, by John Mongella, the regional commissioner for the Arusha region, according to a statement by the Oakland Institute.

Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, quoted Mongella as telling Maasai leaders that the government planned to remove them from their land at some point this year, even if this decision will be painful to many.

A Maasai leader who spoke to Mongabay on the condition of anonymity said that Mongella continuously stressed that leasing the land is in the “national interest” and should therefore also be of priority to the Maasai people.

Renewed attempts to seize land​

Approximately 15 villages within the proposed area would be impacted by the decision. The strip of land that is legally registered in the Loliondo division of Ngorongoro district is vital for Maasai pastoralists, who have sustainably stewarded the area for generations, according to the Oakland Institute.

Mittal said the creation of the wildlife corridor and the displacement of the communities would exacerbate hunger and poverty, given that pastoral livelihoods depend on the region’s grazing areas and water sources. The strip of land is part of the 4,000-km2 (1,544-mi2) Loliondo Game Controlled Area that became a multipurpose area for hunting, conservation and pastoralism.

Mittal said the Maasai have developed a symbiotic relationship that has allowed local ecology, domesticated livestock, and people to coexist in a resource-scarce environment.

​

A Maasai herder moves cattle across rangeland shared with zebras. Image by Guy Western.

“This local knowledge has been largely credited as allowing the large mammal population and ecological diversity to grow under the stewardship of the Maasai,” Mittal told Mongabay. “Replacing them with tourists and hunters will likely negatively impact the environment and health of wildlife populations.”

When informed of the decision, the Maasai leaders indicated they would not leave the area and have signed a statement opposing the plan.

On Jan. 13, thousands of Maasai gathered in Oloirien village, one of the communities in the area, where they staged a protest and promised to not leave the area until the government reverses the decision. Tanzania Wildlife Authority rangers, who were erecting border beacons for the wildlife corridor, were forced to leave the area after confrontations with the people of neighboring Malambo village, which brought the protests to an end. Leaders say protests will resume if the rangers return.

In addition, leaders of Oloirien, Ololosokwan, Kirtalo and Arash villages have filed an appeal at the East African Court of Justice, asking for a halt to all plans.

The leaders say the renewed attempts to seize the same land is a blatant violation of an injunction that barred the Tanzanian government from evicting Maasai communities from the area. This case involved violent government-led evictions of Maasai villages in August 2017.

Maasai gathering at Oloirien village in protest against the Tanzanian government decision last Sunday. Image courtesy of Oakland Institute.​

At the time, under the instructions of the government, homes of Maasai families were burned to the ground leaving thousands homeless while several residents were arrested.

The injunction also prohibits the destruction of Maasai homesteads, the confiscation of livestock, and the office of the Inspector General of Police from harassing and intimidating the plaintiffs. The injunction remains in effect until a ruling on the full case can be heard. A hearing date has not yet been set.

“That the Maasai are once again facing eviction to please the UAE royal family shows the Tanzanian government continues to prioritize tourism revenues at the expense of the Indigenous pastoralists who have sustainable stewarded the area for generations,” Mittal said.

Tanzania’s economic development depends heavily on the private sector. Tourism contributes 17.2% to the country’s gross domestic product, and 25% of all foreign exchange revenues. In 2020, then-President John Magufuli announced that the government would put great emphasis on several economic sectors, including tourism.

Otterlo did not respond to several requests for comment through social media, and the telephone number listed for its office in Tanzania is no longer in service. The Oakland Institute’s attempts to reach out to Otterlo went unanswered.

A relocation plan in motion​

The Tanzanian government’s plan to evict the Maasai from Loliondo is not the only one in motion, but is rather part of a larger plan to resettle communities in the region to make space for a conservation area, tourism and hunting. There are preparations to implement a multiple land use and resettlement plan in the neighboring Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) that will relocate another 80,000-plus Maasai within the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The NCA is considered one of the most cinematic landscapes on the planet, seeing over 1 million wildebeest migrate through the area, and is home to the critically endangered black rhino (Diceros bicornis).

According to Mittal, the first group of Maasai are expected to be relocated at the end of February. The NCA plan proposes to divide the conservation area into four zones. At least 82% of the area currently accessible for pastoralism will be designated as a conservation area, and the remaining 18% will be classified as multiple land use for human and wildlife.

The more than 150,000 evicted pastoralists in Ngorongoro district, including those from Loliondo, will be resettled to this 18% of land.

A map showing the location of Loliondo Game Controlled Area and Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. Image courtesy of the Oakland Institute.​

A Maasai activist and community representative, who requested anonymity, has appealed to the Tanzanian government to put a stop to its plans to evict communities and wait until the court case is concluded.

“The myth of protected areas takes away not only our rights as people but our ability to exercise our responsibilities related to land,” the leader said as he appealed for international support on behalf of his community, noting that Tanzania is a signatory to the U.N.’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Hadithi ndefu lakini haioneshi ushahidi wa madai kuwa serikali inataka kuwaondoa Wamasai ili iliuze eneo kwa kampuni Ortello (OBC)...Nilichokisoma ni dhahania tu na upigaji ramli chonganishi!

Serikali ina wajibu wa kulinda watu wake na raslimali zake katika uwiano muafaka wa win-win situation!

Madai kuwa vigogo na raia wa nchi jirani kulitumia eneo hilo kuwa machungio ya mifugo yao kwa manufaa yao binafsi naona yanapata mashiko, kufuatia mrejesho wa tuhuma kama zilivyotolewa katika makala hayo.

Ni wakati muafaka sasa kwa serikali kufanya real-time auditing katika eneo hilo kujua idadi ya wananchi, umiliki wa mifugo yao, na athari za uhifadhi wanyamapori, ili kujiweka katika nafasi nzuri kuufahamu Ukweli, utakaoisaidia kutafuta utatuzi thabiti wa suala hili.

 

[Testar]

JPM alisema baadhi ya uozo wa nchi uliokuwa unafanyika kuna vitu vingine alisema ni vigumu kuvisema akapiga nukta….sasa jiwe km yule aone ugumu kusema hilo jambo litakuwa sio la kitoto linaumiza sana…

Sasa hao wamasai wasimame imara km simba….

Nakubaliana na wewe Mkuu,
Nasi watanzania pia tusimamena wamasai.
Leo kwao kwesho ni kwa nani?

 

[Testar]

Hadithi ndefu lakini haioneshi ushahidi wa madai kuwa serikali inataka kuwaondoa Wamasai ili iliuze eneo kwa kampuni Ortello (OBC)...Nilichokisoma ni dhahania tu na upigaji ramli chonganishi!

Serikali ina wajibu wa kulinda watu wake na raslimali zake katika uwiano muafaka wa win-win situation!

Madai kuwa vigogo na raia wa nchi jirani kulitumia eneo hilo kuwa machungio ya mifugo yao kwa manufaa yao binafsi naona yanapata mashiko, kufuatia mrejesho wa tuhuma kama zilivyotolewa katika makala hayo.

Ni wakati muafaka sasa kwa serikali kufanya real-time auditing katika eneo hilo kujua idadi ya wananchi, umiliki wa mifugo yao, na athari za uhifadhi wanyamapori, ili kujiweka katika nafasi nzuri kuufahamu Ukweli, utakaoisaidia kutafuta utatuzi thabiti wa suala hili.

Kwa hii logic yako ipo siku wakulima nao watanyang'anywa mashamba yao kwa kigezo cha wanalimishwa na vigogo pamoja na raia wa nchi jirani.

 

[SAIDWE]

Haya majitu yameanza kula miaka na miaka na hayajawahi kuridhika. Hakika mwizi ni mwizi 2!

 

[M2WAWA2]

ina maana kuna udini ndani yake! Sitaki kuamini hivyo maana itakuwa hatari

angalia waandishi wa habari kwenye hili sakata. Angalia na wabunge wanaopinga , wanao kubali

 

[babukijana]

#Kazi Iendelee

Inaendelea tusubiri tu

 

[Manelezu]

ina maana kuna udini ndani yake! Sitaki kuamini hivyo maana itakuwa hatari

Udini au ujinga? Yani maslahi ya nchi yanaingia udini? Umpatie mtu ardhi Tz sababu ni dini yako hata kama ni raia wa Dubai? Strange!! National interests hazina udini, kama wanaona Wana relate na hao raia wa Dubai basi kuna tatizo kubwa sana vichwani!!

 

[Frustration]

Mizani ya kisiasa inaathiri mgogoro huu moja kwa moja. Green Yes,brown No

 

[ruaharuaha]

Wamasai wanaomba msaada UK, USA and EU eneo lao lisichukuliwe na kupewa UAE kutumika kwa matumizi ya kuwinda bila kubughuziwa (Ujangili uliorasimishwa).

Jibu la Waziri ni kwamb Ardhi yote Tanzania ni mali ya serikali. Kwahiyo Wamasai hawana haki yoyote ya ardhi.

Tanzania’s Maasai appeal to west to stop eviction for conservation plans​

Thousands of Indigenous people sign letter to UK, US and EU protesting at appropriation of land for tourist safaris and commercial hunting.
"You can keep providing funding to those responsible for appropriating our land in the name of profit or you can make it clear to our government that you will not stand by as our right to live peacefully on and conserving our land is denied to make space for elite tourism and ‘trophy’ hunting.”

We have nowhere else to go,” they wrote. “Losing this land will mean the extinction of our community. Over 70% of our homelands has been taken for conservation and investment reasons.”

Farther north in Loliondo, near the Kenyan border, 70,000 Maasai face eviction to make way for the expanding operations of Otterlo Business Corporation (OBC), a United Arab Emirates-owned hunting company.

Unesco spokesperson said: “Unesco World Heritage Centre has never at any time asked for the displacement of the Maasai people. If nature conservation is an urgent need, Indigenous peoples are also part of the answer: they are key actors and rights-holders in achieving this. Unesco World Heritage Centre and the 1972 convention thus recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples and our practice is to involve everyone in finding a solution where nature wins and people win.”

Tanzania’s Maasai appeal to west to stop eviction for conservation plans

Thousands of Indigenous people sign letter to UK, US and EU protesting at appropriation of land for tourist safaris and hunting

www.theguardian.com

 

[Mbojo]

Kama kweli serikali inataka kuhifadhi ngorongoro, asipewe mgeni. Askari walinde na wamasai waondoke hifadhini. Habari yakuuza Nchi vipande vipande haifai. Kama manunuzi wakanunue zenji.

Sent from my TECNO F1 using JamiiForums mobile app

 

[FRANCIS DA DON]

Wanaokataa wamasai kuhamishwa,wana ubinafsi mkubwa sana,sio wazalendo

Achana na nyumba wanazojemgewa. Nani anapenda kuishi porini kwenye nyumba za tembe? Kitendo cha mtu mwenye akili zake timamu cha kukosoa serikali kuondoa wamasai Ngorongoro ni upuuzi mkubwa sana,tena utakuta jitu linalokosoa linakaa kwenye nyumba nzuri na shehena iliyopimwa kabisa,hivi hutaki...

www.jamiiforums.com

 

[FRANCIS DA DON]

Kama kweli serikali inataka kuhifadhi ngorongoro, asipewe mgeni. Askari walinde na wamasai waondoke hifadhini. Habari yakuuza Nchi vipande vipande haifai. Kama manunuzi wakanunue zenji.

Sent from my TECNO F1 using JamiiForums mobile app

Ni kwanini katika awamu za waislamu tu ndio nchi inauzwa why? MWINYI, KIKWETE, SULUHU, Kwanini? Na wanunuzi ni wale wale waarabu, why?!