Plans to evict Maasai from Ngorongoro ends in conflict Posted by David Henning on 17 June 2022 Tanzania’s multi-land use model is unique, in that allows the local community to live in a protected area. But a UNESCO report claims that this experiment has failed, and attempts to evict thousands of Maasai ended up in confrontation. READ: Maasai people could be evicted from Tanzania’s Ngorongoro area Tear gas and rifle shots on one side, bows, arrows and spears on the other. The government of Tanzania expropriates the ancestral lands of the Masai to make it a game reserve for the rich. A crime against humanity. pic.twitter.com/Hmeh2fJ0dw — RadioGenova (@RadioGenova) June 12, 2022 Tensions have been rising between the Tanzanian government and indigenous Maasai pastoralists, culminating with a confrontation between police officers and residents at Ololosokwani village in the Ngorongoro district on 10 June. Reports state that the fighting erupted after Maasai locals attempted to stop game wardens and police officers attempting to demarcate a contentious plot of 1 500 square kilometres for conservation activities. Authorities claim that the land is crucial for wildebeest reproduction and migration into the Serengeti, and have argued that the area is overpopulated by people and livestock. Leading up to the confrontation, a paramilitary group of 700 armed police, rangers and soldiers arrived in Lolindo, in the northern Ngorongoro, which immediately instigated unrest. Human rights organisations have accused the Tanzanian police of violence after 31 people were severely injured during the eviction. ‘They found us in a meeting and they started shooting at us like wild animals,’ one of the community members told Al Jazeera. ‘We had gone to graze our cows when we met police officers on our way who started attacking us with live bullets.’ Tanzania’s Government is evicting Maasai people from their ancestral land in Ngorongoro District to make way for a game reserve, and trophy hunters from UAE according to Survival International. Paramilitary forces are reportedly executing the eviction. pic.twitter.com/GOY0XYVirl — Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) June 12, 2022 The Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Areas and Territories consortium have criticised the government-planned ‘conservation activities,’ where the government purportedly plans to ‘create a game reserve to be controlled by the Ortello Business Corporation (OBC), which runs hunting excursions for the United Arab Emirates’ royal family and guests’. Activists have referred to this move as a form of ‘green colonialism’ where indigenous populations are evicted from land to create a game reserve for the rich. ALSO READ Luangwa National Park – the wildest bush-walking experience in Africa Related Posts Buildings, roads and homes flood as severe weather hits KZN 18 May 2023 Good news from the brink of extinction in Volcanoes National Park 11 May 2023 Photojournalist Graeme Green went to Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park to document the recently opened campus... read more Curiosity skilled the cat 5 May 2023 A member of The Explorer’s Club and founder of Curiosity Company, Francois Malherbe uses tracking... read more PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE
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