Kenyans embarked on a tree-planting initiative to commemorate National Tree Planting Day, led by President William Ruto and other government officials on November 13th. The holiday was announced by the CS for Interior, Prof. Kithure Kindiki, through a Gazette notice. This initiative is part of an ambitious plan to cultivate 15 billion trees, aligning with global efforts to combat climate change and protect biodiversity, following the recent adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework during COP 15 on biodiversity. This framework aims to guide global action on nature by the year 2030.

However, as we celebrated and planted tree seedlings on Tree Planting Day, the government was not only forcibly but also violently displacing the Ogiek community from their ancestral homes in Mau Forest, without a fair or better alternative for their resettlement. Ironically, Kenya positions itself as the leading voice on climate change issues in Africa, yet it is harshly evicting indigenous people who play a crucial role in the conservation of nature.

Cruel evictions of the Ogiek

The eviction has tremendous negative impacts, with property loss being the most significant. Additionally, children drop out of schools, and agony and pain befall the affected families. Importantly, having no security or roof over one’s head during this El Nino season is excruciatingly hazardous. One might ask, why would a leader be so cruel as to forcefully evict an entire ethnic group from ancestral land? The right answer is provided by the man of the cloth, Peter Njenga, in his book "The Iron Bishop," stating that there are many leaders but little leadership.

The cruel evictions of the Ogiek violate the provisions and spirit of Articles 28 and 29 of the Constitution. Importantly, these provisions are not only profound but also grant the Ogiek people the right to inherent dignity and the right to freedom and security, which includes the right not to be treated in a cruel, inhuman, or degrading manner. Nevertheless, these provisions should not be exclusive to the majority ethnic groups but should be seen as enjoyed by the minority ethnic groups in Kenya as well. The Preamble of the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change makes it clear that all states should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote, and consider their respective obligations on human rights.

Despite the landmark judgments by the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, recognizing the Ogiek's entitlement to live on their ancestral land in the Mau Forest and providing reparations for the material and moral harm suffered as a result of their marginalization and dispossession of their lands, the fate of the Ogiek in Kenya continues to face state-orchestrated evictions from their ancestral homes. Unless the eviction of the Ogiek is halted, Kenya will continue to be scrutinized by regional courts.

Orders of the African Court

The government should adhere to the decisions and orders of the African Court, of which it is a party. The decisions of the court bind the state, its officials, and its decisions. Kenya boasts of being guided by the rule of law, but it seems there is more than meets the eye when the lid is lifted. Laughably, the government’s neglect of court orders has gone beyond the borders of the territory of Kenya to international levels, attracting international chagrin of the highest order.

As we have observed National Tree Planting Day, it is worth reflecting on the fact that indigenous people are the unsung heroes of environmental stewardship and must be at the center of climate action. The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai, opined that you cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, inform them, and help them understand that these resources are their own and that they must protect them.

Therefore, it is only through equitable and inclusive partnerships that seek to strengthen and empower communities most impacted by climate change that we can truly achieve just and sustainable climate action. As the government plants tree seedlings on Tree Planting Day, let it also sow seeds of equity, human rights, social justice, equality, and non-discrimination. Otherwise, if nothing is done, as is likely to happen, then, going by the lyrics of the late Lucky Dube, the poor man will continue to feel the pain all the time.

Kithinji Nturibi is a law student at Mount Kenya University. Email: [email protected]