ARUSHA, Tanzania
One Tanzania police officer was on Friday June 10 killed in the tensions that has erupted as a result of the exercise of demarcating the Loliondo Game Reserve, Arusha Regional Commissioner John Mogella has confirmed.
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| Armed plain-clothes police officers take charge in front of a Maasai elder in Loliondo, Ndorongoro district Tanzania |
The ongoing crisis in the Maasai steppe in which the Tanzania government is determined to allot 1,500 square kilometers of legitimate village land has caused misunderstanding between the government and the community.
According to Regional Commissioner, the police office was killed by an arrow which was shot by a group of Maasai people who intended to stop the exercise in their ancestral land.
The police force has engaged in full throated assault to remove the native Maasai pastoralists from the area under pretext of wild conservation.
"Unfortunately yesterday afternoon one of our police officers was shot dead by a group of people who came out and wanted to affect the exercise and injure those who were continuing the exercise," he said without naming the officer.
"It is very unfortunate, but we recognize the contribution of this patriotic police officer,” he said, adding that the disappointing scenario occurred just after a statement from the prime minister in the morning concerning the place and livelihood of the people
He said that the government machinery of the whole region were all in Loliondo and that the situation was contained as they continued the exercise of demarcation.
Mongela noted that the exercise was progressing well in the presence of the security forces in order to protect the area as well as the people present because it was the responsibility of the agencies.
However, recalling a statement made by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa on the government's intention in the area earlier in Parliament yesterday, Mr Mongela seemed disturbed with the killing of a police officer.
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| Police force use lachrymator agent against Maasai demonstrators |
The RC told the media that the exercise was ongoing and at the time he was speaking there were no casualties in all areas including all hospitals and health centres as he allayed fears about the video clips and images posted on social media.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Friday there was no chaos, trashing accusations of police involvement in the matter.
He noted that the government was planting beacons to demarcate the 1,500 square kilometer conservation area in Loliondo from the part allocated for human activities.
This was after Videos and images circulated via social media showed scenes of a Maasai community gathering to protest against the police who were reportedly sent to provide security during the planned land demarcation exercise.
On 11 January 2022, the Regional Commissioner for Arusha, John Mongella, on behalf of the Government told leaders of the Maasai community in Loliondo that the government is going to make tough decisions to remove the Maasai people from their 1,500 km2 area of village land any time in 2022, even if this will be painful to the Maasai.
The Regional Commissioner held the meeting in Wasso town in Ngorongoro District headquarters with village and sub-village chairpersons, village and ward executive officers, and councilors.
Upon hearing about the land alienation plan, Maasai leaders refused to sign the list of participants of said meeting because they feared that it will be manipulated and claimed as their consent to relocate from their ancestral land.
They also refused to accompany the Regional Commissioner and his entourage to visit the 1,500 km2 of disputed land.
The planned forceful eviction is a continuation of protracted attempts to clear the area to be leased to wildlife hunting firm Otterlo Business Corporation (OBC) owned by Dubai Royals.
If carried out, the outcome of the eviction will be the mass displacement of over 70,000 Maasai people and their more than 200,000 livestock.
It should be stressed that Maasai pastoralists have legal recognition of this land and any attempts to evict them are unlawful, unjust and discriminatory under national law and the international human rights obligations and commitments of the Government of Tanzania.
Furthermore, the Maasai have sustainably managed their landscape resulting in rich biodiversity, which will be undermined with the planned eviction.
The affected communities have several times appealled to the government of Tanzania to stop all eviction plans, fully protect their land and resource tenure security and to allow them to live in peace in their territory.
They are also appealled to the international community to stand in solidarity with them and exert pressure on the government of Tanzania to respect and protect their rights and dignity, instead of evicting them. - Africa
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