Bristol Charity Calls for Action on Tanzanian Evictions

Bristol based social justice organisation African Initiatives is launching a campaign this week to challenge the recent evictions of indigenous people from their ancestral lands to make way for safari tourism in Northern Tanzania.

The evictions took place in July and August when the Tanzanian government used their armed riot police force unit to push over twenty five thousand Maasai out of 8 villages within a hunting area controlled by a United Arab Emirates company, The Ortello Business Corporation (OBC). African Initiatives’ partner organisations in Tanzania have reported the widespread burning of homesteads and food stores, violence leading to miscarriages, rape, beatings, false imprisonment, children lost, and livestock being spread over a vast track of land and being destroyed by wildlife. With no proper provision for the evicted people, they have been forced on to uninhabitable land with no water or humanitarian aid.

In another current land dispute with a high profile US-based company, Thomson Safaris, local people report that human rights abuses are being perpetrated by the company’s security guards and the Tanzanian armed police. Villagers who stray onto the land bought up by Thomson have been reportedly beaten, arrested and imprisoned, and forced to pay crippling fines. This from a company awarded top ratings from National Geographic Adventure’s 2009 “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth”.

Land grabbing is not new in Tanzania and African Initiatives has been working with Maasai and hunter gatherer groups for over ten years on land rights issues. Yet the task is great, these minority groups face threats on all sides – big business, tourism, and their own government - with limited resources. African Initiatives trustee Anne McEwan says “Land is essential for survival, it is a basic human right and yet funding to support the work is hard to come by because it’s so political - but that can’t mean we turn away from the issue”.

Founded under a mango tree in Ghana in 1997, African Initiatives is a social justice organisation that promotes the rights of all people to fully participate in the decision-making processes that affect their lives. As well as work undertaken in Ghana and Tanzania African Initiatives also works in partnership with schools, city councils, universities, delivering Global Education in the South West. Our Education programmes are dedicated to raising awareness of development issues, interdependence, sustainability and promoting positive images of the developing world.

To find out more, get involved or book a talk on the fight for land in Tanzania please go to www.african-initiatives.org.uk or email Claire Faithorn: claire@african-initiatives.org.uk.

Claire Faithorn
Administrator
African Initiatives
Tel: 0117 9150001

Maasai evicted to make way for hunting concession in Tanzania

“The eviction of over 25,000 people and up to 50,000 cattle is going on within 8 villages adjusted to an Arab hunting block, burning of homestead and food is ongoing and women and children are suffering. I'll write more later on this crisis…”

This was the disturbing news we received in early July in an email from Maanda Ngoitiko, the director of the Pastoral Women’s Council, one of AI’s partners in Northern Tanzania.

Soon more details of the evictions were reported to us; the most recent developments in a long running dispute between pastoralist communities and a game-hunting company from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Ortello Business Corporation (OBC).

On the 4th July 2009 the government used the heavily armed riot police force unit to push people out of the operational area of the Arab company. Over 150 permanent and non-permanent bomas (homesteads) were completely burnt. The impact upon the communities has been huge and has left thousands of people without food, water or shelter. One young woman was reportedly raped, four children were lost –one of whom is still missing, four goats were burnt to death, food stores and maize fields were burnt, and an unrecorded number of cattle was lost or eaten by lions. Men were beaten by the police, with three of them seriously injured.

The livelihoods of the villagers have also been seriously affected as 60,000 heads of cattle have been pushed into an area of extreme drought, with no water or grass. Problems could deepen as the government is considering turning the land into a game reserve, thus forever prohibiting access or use of the area by the Maasai.

The Ortello Business Corporation (OBC), reportedly linked to the royal family of the UAE, have been operating in Loliondo for almost 17 years after the previous president granted OBC the entire Loliondo Game Controlled Area as a hunting concession.

The government has always maintained that the OBC deal is for the benefit of the state yet whilst the area is traditionally Maasai land, the community was not consulted in the striking of the deal. From a legal position the imposition of the OBC on pastoral village lands violated the prescription of The Village Land Act of 1999. It has also disturbed traditional natural resource management that has been practiced sustainably over time by the pastoralists. All of these reasons have contributed to ongoing tension between the Maasai and OBC, with the situation now reaching a critical point. Villagers argue that there have been gross human rights violations and denial of livelihood rights; with cries of help ignored by the government.

Pastoralist communities continue in their battle to keep control of their land supported by civil society organisations such as AI’s partners CRT and PWC. However there have also been attempts by the local government to silence the NGOs and recently women demonstrating about the atrocities in Loliondo were told they did not have the right to protest.

Read the Observer article “Tourism is a Curse to Us” on the land issues in Northern Tanzania.

Letter to the Editor of the Observer.

This letter is in response to Alex Renton’s article “Tourism is a curse to us” (Sunday 6th September). African Initiatives is a social justice organisation that has been working with the Maasai and other pastoralist and hunter-gatherer groups for the past ten years. Our work has included supporting the development of communities in two of the land disputed areas which are linked to the activities of Thomson Safaris and the Ortello Business Corporation, as described by Alex Renton. The following information is intended to supplement Mr Renton’s article.

Regarding the land dispute with Thomson Safaris, Maasai communities have reported to African Initiatives partners that human rights abuses have been perpetrated by both Thomson’s security guards together with the Tanzanian armed police on the communities bordering the disputed area, even though it is unclear where that border lies. For example, in May 2009 an individual (name available, but withheld for his security) from Irmasiling sub-village (0.5 Km from the disputed area) was confronted by seven security guards and two armed police officers. This individual was beaten severely, taken unwillingly in their vehicle to a police station and detained in prison for four days without food or water. He was charged with attacking Thomson staff on their land and trespassing on individual property. After being ordered to pay a fine of £142, he was released. A short while later, selling cattle in a local market he was approached by Thomson staff and again taken to the police station in their vehicle where he was again beaten, then either sentenced to 16 months in prison or ordered to pay a fine for the equivalent of £380. The fine was paid, but when news of his release reached Thomson officials they complained to the Magistrate who subsequently ordered that the individual should pay another fine of £95 as compensation to Thomson for the use of their vehicle! This is one person’s experience who was forced to pay more than one years average income in fines to satisfy an international safari company. The Maasai attest to many other similar stories.

Yet more disturbing, Mr Renton writes that friends of the murdered NZ journalist, Trent Keegan, believe that his murder is linked to Thomson Safaris as the murder took place whilst he was investigating human rights abuses which were reportedly perpetrated by them on the Maasai people. Trent Keegan appeared to suggest that his security was compromised as he emailed a friend just before his death, saying: “Hi guys, there is rumour that the police are coming and so I’m sending this out to you asap” that is, his stories of the abuse perpetrated by Thomson staff. Oddly, it was found that only his camera and laptop had been taken from his body, whilst his wallet remained. The authorities reported this as a more straightforward theft and murder.

In addition, Liz McKee’s remark on behalf of Thomson in Mr Renton’s article, “I don’t see any reason to uphold their [the Maasai’s] way of life” needs some comment. Yes, it is agreed that there are some intolerable aspects of Maasai traditional culture, for instance, early and forced marriage, the low status of women and the lack of educational opportunities for girls. However, Ms McKee does not seem to realise that there are Maasai organisations working with their own people to advocate against such traditional practice and attitudes. African Initiatives works with innovative and grassroots organisations, such as the Pastoral Women’s Council, that work within their own communities to address human rights issues (which includes raising awareness of women’s rights and land rights), to improve access to essential services; to strengthen women’s voice and to campaign against land-grabbing by international tourist companies - using the democratic systems of Government in Tanzania, that is, their political representatives.

With regard to the land dispute between the Maasai and the Ortello Business Corporation - Mr Renton mentions that Maasai farms were burned after herdsmen who had been affected by drought moved their cattle onto land which had been leased by the OBC. The land in question was granted to OBC by former president Ali Hassan Mwinyi, along with the entire Loliondo Game Controlled Area, in 1993 for hunting. The communities of Loliondo were not party to this agreement, nor meaningfully consulted. It is regarded at community level as unlikely that this hunting concession went through the normal channels for approval or received any expert evaluation as it was hurriedly approved and hunting licenses were issued following instructions from the Office of the President. This agreement thus denies pastoralist communities grazing and water rights on their own land and is in direct contravention of The Village Land Act of 1999. It has also disturbed traditional natural resource management that has been practiced sustainably over time by pastoralists. Villagers argue that there have been gross human rights violations and denial of livelihood rights; with requests for assistance ignored by the government.

More recently, in July and August 2009, an estimated 25,150 people (along with 40,000 to 50,000 cattle) from eight villages of Loliondo Division, were forcibly evicted from their land by the Tanzanian Full Force Police to make way for hunting by OBC. This included villages bordering the Serengeti National Park that form part of the migration route for wildlife. This was carried out in breach of the Rule of Law. Courts were not involved in giving the order for the evictions to take place or indeed for the demolition of property. African Initiatives’ partners in Tanzania have reported to us the widespread burning of homesteads and food stores, violence leading to miscarriage, rape, beatings, false imprisonment, children have been lost and valuable livestock has been spread over vast tracts of land and killed by wildlife. There is no appropriate provision for the evicted families who have been forced onto uninhabitable land with no water, no shelter and no food. In addition, local activist organisations who lobby for the fundamental rights of their communities suffer harassment and intimidation. Meanwhile, the Full Force Police Unit continues to be hosted by the OBC camp.

Whilst the immediate needs of the evicted Maasai are water, food, and shelter, the people of the affected areas would like:

1. The violence and harassment to stop immediately.
2. Their ancestral land back and to benefit from its natural resources.
3. To be involved in all decisions that affect them and their livelihoods.
4. Compensation for their economic losses as a result of the evictions.

The UK makes a considerable investment in overseas aid in Tanzania. It is the Department for International Development’s largest programme in Africa and the UK is the largest bilateral donor providing budget support to Tanzania. The UK Government contributed £103.5 million to the Government of Tanzania in July 2009. An additional £46.5 million has been allocated to other projects in the country this year.

Yours faithfully,

Rosie Martin
Director
African Initiatives

Jan Knight
Chair of Trustees