By Josephat Siror and Leonard Korir
There was a standoff at the Ministry of Lands when a group of Maasai protesters stormed the building on Wednesday evening.
Security officers had a hard time stopping the group, who demanded to see Lands Minister James Orengo.
And when they finally met the minister in the boardroom, they engaged him in a heated debate over land issues affecting their community.
Joseph Nagut from Transmara accused the Government of allowing few individuals to deprive the community their constitutional rights.
“We have had fruitful discussions with you but your officers have approved titles in favour of our opponents,” the group leader, Ratik ole Kuyana told the minister.
Mr Kuyana continued: “Our people have been killed and others now live in fear of arrest but the Government has turned blind eye.”
But Mr Orengo cautioned that their leaders had betrayed them. “Lazima tuseme ukweli na ukweli mtupu. Ni nyinyi wenyewe na watu wenyu wamewapotosha (We must say the truth. It is your people who have misled you),” Orengo told the fully packed boardroom. A ‘title deed’ they had presented to the minister turned out to be fake.
“This document is a forgery. These signatures are from individuals who do not even exist in our lands department,” the minister said while displaying the alleged adjudication document. Orengo warned that action would be taken against the individuals. He informed the group that issues of adjudication of land take a long process. Orengo said the Constitution and National Lands Commission Bill would unravel the issue on communal land ownership.
