TIG Post

Tag: Maasai community

  • Teenagers in Tanzania attack journalists as tensions rise

    Teenagers in Tanzania attack journalists as tensions rise

    Authorities claim that a gang of teenage Maasai people who reside in the Ngorongoro conservation area in northern Tanzania have injured three journalists and one language interpreter.

    The BBC was informed by Elibariki Bajuta, the area’s deputy commissioner for conservation, that the attack took place on Tuesday when the journalists were observing how the government was delivering “conservation-based education” to the local populace.

    According to Mr. Bajuta, the attack is being investigated, and anybody found responsible will face legal repercussions.

    According to him, the injured are receiving medical attention at a hospital in the nearby town of Karatu.

    It occurs in the midst of a dispute between the government and certain Maasai community members who opposed the authorities removing them from what they consider to be their ancestral territory that broke out last year.

    The authorities have started transferring residents to Tanga’s coastal area, claiming that the region’s ecosystem is at risk due to the rising human population in Ngorongoro.

  • In a land dispute, a Tanzanian court ruled against the Maasai community

    In a case involving a land dispute between them and the Tanzanian government, the Maasai community’s appeal was denied by the East African Court of Justice. The property is situated in the well-known Serengeti.

    The Maasai petitioners wanted the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to stop the Tanzanian government from removing them and their livestock by force from the border of the Serengeti Reserve and Loliondo Wilderness.

    They argued that the government had violated the terms of the agreement for establishing the East African Community.

    However, reading the court’s decisions, judge Charles Nyachae on behalf of judge Monica Mgenyi, said that the petitioners, livestock keepers of the Maasai community, failed to prove their claims that they were tortured and beaten.

    Nyachae also said the petitioners could not provide evidence that their property was destroyed by people they described as soldiers of the police force.

    “We are unable to receive sufficient evidence from the petitioners and we dismiss the reference,” the judge said while reading the verdict.

    Judges of the East African Court of JusticeThe East African Court of Justice judges said the Maasai petitioners failed to prove their claims

    In their defense, the attorney general of the Tanzanian government pointed out that they did not use force or torture to remove the herders who invaded the Serengeti National Park which borders the Ngorongoro area in the north.

    Long-standing case

    In the case opened in 2017 at the East African Court of Justice, the Maasai people had hoped for a declaration stating that the Tanzanian government violated the set laws.

    They also wanted an order from the court to stop the citizens’ evictions, arrest, detention, prosecution, and damage to their homesteads, livestock, and other property.

    They were also seeking an order for restitution and reinstatement from the government, their members, and residents to their lawful property and full reparation and general damages of one billion Tanzanian shillings ( €446,000, $428,000).