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URGENT ALERT – Heavy Police Presence in Loliondo as Threats of Mass Evictions of the Maasai Intensify

Published

4 years ago

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Armed police forces arrive to begin demarcation process in Loliondo.

  • On June 8th, dozens of police vehicles from the anti-riot Field Force Unit (FFU) arrived in Wasso town of the Loliondo division of Ngorongoro district to demarcate a 1,500 km2 area of land as a Game Reserve.
  • Changing the status of the Loliondo Game Controlled Area to a Game Reserve would ban all human settlement and trigger widespread evictions of Maasai living in the area.
  • This latest threat is a continuation of past efforts to evict Maasai from their land in Loliondo for safari tourism and trophy hunting.

Oakland, CA — On June 8, 2022, dozens of police vehicles from the anti-riot Field Force Unit (FFU) arrived in Wasso town of the Loliondo division of Ngorongoro district to demarcate a 1,500 km2 area of land as a Game Reserve. The FFU and other forces have now set up camp in the Oloosek area of Ololosokwan and in Sanjan sub-village of Malambo.

The arrival of a heavy police force signals the government has moved forwards with plans to change the status of the Loliondo Game Controlled Area into a Game Reserve, which would trigger mass evictions of Maasai living in legally registered villages within the area. “Despite earlier pauses, the Tanzanian government is blindly moving ahead with plans to remove Maasai pastoralists out of their land to clear the way for trophy hunting,” said Oakland Institute Executive Director Anuradha Mittal. “International mobilization on these developments is imperative to help stop this disastrous and illegal move,” she emphasized.

Earlier in June 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism announced plans to change the status of several Game Controlled Areas to Game Reserves. In addition to Loliondo, Lake Natron, Lokisale, Longido, Mto wa mbu and Kilombero would no longer allow permanent residents and livestock grazing would be banned. On June 9, 2022, the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr. Chana, arrived in the Arusha region to “inspect the activities of the Loliondo Game Reserve,”(link is external) signaling the decision to change the areas status had been made.

This latest threat is a continuation of past efforts to evict Maasai from their land in Loliondo for safari tourism and trophy hunting. The United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Otterlo Business Company (OBC) — which runs hunting excursions for the country’s royal family and their guests — will reportedly control commercial hunting in the area despite the company’s past involvement in several violent evictions of the Maasai, burning of homes, and the killing of thousands of rare animals in the area.

As a Game Reserve, settlement and livestock grazing would be outlawed. Removing residents from this area would also violate the 2018 East African Court of Justice (EACJ) injunction, which prohibited the Tanzanian government from evicting the villagers, seizing their livestock, destroying property, or engaging in harassment against Maasai communities living in Ololosokwan, Oloirien, Kirtalo, and Arash villages. “While a final ruling from the EACJ is expected at the end of June, the government is willing to defy the court injunction, grab the ancestral land of the Maasai and hand it over to the royal family of the UAE for their hunting pleasures, indicating its ruthless disregard for its citizens, international law, and due process,” said Mittal.

Today, Maasai communities gathered in several locations, including Ololosokwan and Kirtalo, to protest against the police invasion. In light of this impending calamity, the Oakland Institute echoes calls made by local communities for international support and an immediate end to displacement and evictions.

Source: oaklandinstitute.org

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NGO WORK

UN Experts Put Tanzanian Government on Notice – “Ensure Transparency and Respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Ngorongoro”

Published

1 week ago

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April 23, 2026

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April 17, 2026 press release from the offices of eight UN Special Rapporteurs1 calls for the Tanzanian government to immediately publish the findings of two presidential commissions amid growing concerns over its eviction plans.
The communication echoes the Oakland Institute’s warning that these sham Presidential Commissions are being used to rubber-stamp eviction plans without the consent of the Indigenous community.
The strongly-worded communication from the UN Special Rapporteurs states that “these reports are of profound public interest and must be made available to the public without delay…Decisions affecting tens of thousands of Indigenous Peoples cannot be taken behind closed doors.” The experts furthermore urge “the Government to halt any actions that could lead to forced displacement, and engage in meaningful dialogue with affected communities,” while issuing a clear reminder that “Indigenous Peoples have a right to remain on their traditional lands if they so choose…Conservation efforts must not come at the expense of human rights.”
Impacted Maasai communities welcome this intervention from the UN Special Rapporteurs and reaffirm their commitment to defend their rights to remain on their ancestral lands.
To learn more about the struggle against Fortress Conservation, watch the interview: The Dark Side of “Conservation”
On Fox 5 DC Weekend Live, Julie Donaldson interviews Andy Currier, Oakland Institute’s Policy Analyst. Watch the discussion on fortress conservation and the human cost of climate solutions that displace Indigenous communities who best protect our biodiversity.
Watch the video

Source: oaklandinstitute.org

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NGO WORK

Two dead as Siaya protests against gold mining firm turn tragic

Published

4 weeks ago

on

April 7, 2026

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Ikolomani residents protesting against eviction plan to pave space for British mining company Shanta Gold on November 12, 2025. Two people died in similar protests in Gem, Siaya County.  Isaac Wale | Nation Media Group

Two people were shot dead on Monday in Gem–Ramula, Siaya County, after villagers staged a protest over an alleged eviction they linked to Shanta Gold Kenya Limited.

Area police boss Charles Wafula confirmed the incident, stating that the victims were among a group alleged to have attacked a police post after the officers moved in to disperse the demonstrators.

According to Mr Wafula, the demonstrators, angered by what they described as an illegal resettlement by the company, stormed the station during the protest, prompting officers to intervene.

“The individuals had organised a demonstration but they did not notify the police. Our officers moved in to contain the situation, but the group began attacking both officers and Ramula Police Post, damaging several items, including vehicles,” Mr Wafula said.

However, a local rights organisation has sharply contested the police account, portraying the killings as unlawful and unprovoked.

In a statement, the Community Initiative Action Group Kenya said the two victims identified as Henry Otieno and Jack Omenda were part of a peaceful protest against what they termed a forced eviction from their ancestral land.

“The community had gathered peacefully to demonstrate against Shanta Gold Limited’s attempt to relocate them without their consent,” said the lobby’s Executive Director Chris Owalla.

The group further alleged that police officers opened fire without warning following a confrontation with residents at Ramula Market.

“Witnesses state there was an exchange between the community and police after which officers opened fire, killing Henry and Jack on the spot,” Mr Owalla said.

The rights group also accused senior police officers including Mr Wafula and Charles Emodo of Directorate of Criminal Investigation, of disregarding a court order that had halted evictions and mining operations in the area.

According to Mr Owalla, the Environment and Land Court in Siaya had, on February 5, 2026, issued conservatory orders barring any involuntary resettlement of residents in Ramula and its environs, pending the hearing of a petition.

The organisation is now calling for investigations by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the the Director of Public Prosecutions, alongside an independent autopsy on the victims.

Fear of evictions

The unrest is rooted in long-standing tensions over planned gold mining operations by Shanta Gold in the region. The company is seeking to establish a large-scale extraction project – one that residents fear could uproot communities and erode livelihoods carefully built over generations.

Similar scenes of unrest were reported in November 2025 in Ikolomani, where locals protested against possible relocations linked to the same company.

Shanta Gold has previously signalled its intention to invest in a multi-billion-shilling project in western Kenya, targeting high-grade gold deposits expected to yield significant output over several years.

Source: nation.africa

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NGO WORK

Tanzania: Commissions call for mass eviction of Indigenous Maasai from world-famous tourist destinations.

Published

1 month ago

on

March 19, 2026

By

Two presidential commissions have recommended the mass eviction of Maasai people from some of East Africa’s most iconic conservation areas and tourist destinations.

The commissions were established by Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan following previous evictions of Maasai pastoralists from parts of the world-famous Serengeti ecosystem, and large-scale protests in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in 2024.

Now, despite a global outcry at the earlier evictions, the two Commissions have:

  • Backed the previous evictions and called for them to continue, including in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ngorongoro and neighboring Lake Natron.
  • Described the long-standing Maasai presence in the area as an “environmental pressure” that needs to be reduced.
  • Threatened local NGOs that support the Maasai, accusing them of “spreading misinformation or propaganda” because they “conflict with government interests.”
  • Called for the “relocation” of all “non-conservation activities” [in other words, Maasai occupancy of the land] outside the conservation areas.
  • Called for existing recognition of the Maasai people’s right to live in the Ngorongoro area to be removed.

An anonymous Maasai spokesperson said today: “We are blamed for environmental degradation while the unchecked expansion of tourism is ignored. Forced relocation, disguised as policy, has deprived our people of basic rights and dignity. We reject any continuation of these measures and condemn the Commission’s failure to reflect the voices, realities, and rights of our people.”

Still from a video showing the Maasai protesting the violent evictions from their ancestral lands, 2022.

The authorities maintain that these are “voluntary relocations.” However, the Maasai have overwhelmingly rejected being moved.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When it was established, the ancestral right of the Maasai to live there with their cattle was explicitly acknowledged. But UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has backed the so-called “voluntary relocations”, and UNESCO endorses the “fortress conservation” model that underpins Tanzania’s approach.

Survival International Director Caroline Pearce said today, “These commissions were a sham, a gimmick designed to give Tanzania’s violent persecution of the Maasai a veneer of respectability. It was widely predicted that they’d back further evictions: the whole saga just confirms that colonial-style fortress conservation is alive and well in Tanzania today, and enthusiastically endorsed by UNESCO.

“These recommendations give the green light to more evictions, in Ngorongoro and beyond. And while the Maasai are robbed of their lands and livelihood, the government, tour operators and so-called conservationists will enrich themselves from a landscape emptied of its original owners.”

Source: survivalinternational.org

Related posts:

Sham Presidential Commissions Rubber Stamp Tanzanian Government’s Efforts to Evict Indigenous Maasai from Ngorongoro Conservation Area The Oakland Institute Calls on the Tanzanian Presidential Land Commissions to Respect & Ensure Rights of Maasai Living in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Call to Sever Ties with Tanzanian Government Over Latest Human Rights Abuses Against the Maasai Worldwide Condemnation Over Violence against the Maasai by Tanzania Security Forces US Luxury Safari Operator Tightens Stranglehold Over Maasai Land in Tanzania
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