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Maasai “one of the endangered tribes in Africa”: Religious Missionaries in Africa, Europe

Credit: Africa Europe Faith and Justice Network (AEFJN)

Religious Missionaries with presence in Africa and Europe have said the forceful eviction of the Maasai community from their ancestral land in Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Loliondo in Northern Tanzania has made the pastoralist tribe one of the most endangered in Africa. 

In a February 13 statement, members of the Africa Europe Faith and Justice Network (AEFJN) say the world's second-most populous continent “is gaining notoriety for exterminating small indigenous tribes with natural resources in their ancestral land.”

“With this forceful eviction plan of the Tanzanian government, the Massai stands out as one of the endangered tribes in Africa, as their communities face the same eviction threats in Kenya over government development projects,” AEFJN members say.

Members of the Maasai community in Kenya have also fallen victim to forceful evictions, including the 2013 ejection that was meant to pave the way for construction of a geothermal power plant in Olkaria, Naivasha, in the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru.

The women and men Religious ask if the Tanzanian government has examined the implication of the eviction of “the Maasai tribe from their ancestral land”. 

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“The current effort to dislocate the Massai tribe from their ancestral land put them at risk of losing their identity and culture,” they say and add, “If there is so much effort to protect our biodiversity, why is it that the international community does not seriously consider the protection of the Massai communities?”

Thousands of Maasai pastoralists have been asked to move from their ancestral home in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Loliondo to pave the way for the government to lease the land to Otterlo Business Corporation (OBC), a company based in the United Arab Emirates, to create elite tourism.

AEFJN members have also accused the government of Tanzania of denying health care to the Maasai in the areas.

They say the government has pressured the Catholic Church to reduce its emergency service to the only health facility in Ngorongoro. 

“The Archdiocese of Arusha built the Endulen hospital in response to the healthcare needs of the Massai communities living in the Ngorongoro conservation area. In collaboration, the Government of Tanzania has participated in healthcare services by appointing paid staff to the hospital to complement the effort of the Church,” they say. 

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In recent months, however, AEFJN officials say the Tanzanian government has recalled the government-paid health workers from the health facility and forced the Church to “scale down and eventually stop its emergency services at the Endulen Catholic Hospital so that the hospital sinks to the level of a dispensary.”

What is happening “is a systematic effort to forcefully eject the Masai communities living within the Ngorongoro Conservation area from their ancestral land,” they say in reference to the alleged stopping of health services. 

They also urge Tanzania’s government “to comply with the provisions of the UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and the regulations in place in the Ngorongoro Conservation area that state that ‘no decision can be made without proper involvement, consultation, and the consent of Maasai communities.’”

“The so-called voluntary relocation scheme and the halting of social services amount to the forced displacement of Maasai indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands,” AEFJN members say, adding, “It threatens their lives, cultures, and the many benefits they have brought to their environment, including conserving wildlife and territories. It is a violation of their fundamental rights and their right derived from the conservation regulations.”

The religious leaders say African nations are becoming notorious for evicting small indigenous communities from ancestral lands, which have natural resources. 

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“There have been cases of the Baka forest pygmy tribe of southeast Cameroon, the Sengwer tribe of Kenya, the San Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert, Botswana, and the Ogiek of Kenya, all displaced for the governments and mega conglomerates,” they say. 

AEFJN members say they are concerned that the international community has chosen to remain silent amid the forceful evictions, and lament, “The silence of the international community is a loud cacophony.”

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.