Tanzania told to stop forcing indigenous tribes off ancestral lands

NAIROBI,  Kenya 

Human Rights Watch is accusing Tanzania of forcing indigenous tribes from their ancestral land in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In a report released Wednesday, the rights group documents a Tanzanian government program to move 82,000 people off their land to use it for wildlife conservation, tourism and hunting.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania is a U.N. World Heritage Site managed by the Tanzanian government. For centuries, the Maasai tribe has lived in the area side by side with wild animals.

In 2022, the government of Tanzania launched a program to encourage the voluntary relocation of the Maasai tribe from the conservation area to Msomera, a town about 600 kilometers (370 miles) away.

However, what the government called a voluntary relocation plan was far from voluntary, Human Rights Watch says.

Allan Ngari, the group’s Africa advocacy director, said the forced movement of the people is against the Tanzanian constitution and international law.

“There are clear violations, including the Maasai people's rights to consultation, including prior to planning and execution of the relocation, the prohibition of forced evictions, which is happening even for Msomera residents. And then their culture and development has been inhibited,” Ngari said. “So, there's just a general disregard of the obligations by the government that raises serious concerns about the prospects of any accountability, justice.”

For the 86-page report, titled “It’s Like Killing Culture,” Human Rights Watch interviewed at least 100 people, including Ngorongoro Conservation Area residents who were resettled.

Community members say they were not informed about the resettlement plans and that consent was not sought.

In January, government spokesman Mobhare Matinyi said the relocation process was ongoing and on the right track despite some civil societies and others spreading false information. According to local activists, some 8,000 people have been relocated.

Ngorongoro is home to more than 80,000 people, but since 2021 residents say the government has reduced the availability of essential services in the area like water, land for food production and adequate schools.

Local media reports the government has denied reducing such services. But Ngorongoro resident Denis Oleshangay said authorities are edging them out of their homes.

“The government is trying to make the situation uncomfortable, to make them restless, to make the situation hard for the human being to survive, by denying them the right to access all important places for pasture and water,” Oleshangay said. “But as a result of that, many people lost their livestock because now they have not enough place to pasture. The situation in schools, you have no permit to build even a collapsing classroom, build houses.”

Residents also say government-employed rangers assault and beat them with impunity, and that moving around Ngorongoro has become dangerous.

Over the years, the Tanzanian government has developed a plan to set aside more land for tourists, wild animals, and game hunting.

Authorities argue that though they allowed the Maasai to live within national parks, the growth of their population has put them in direct competition with wildlife.

Ngari of Human Rights Watch said the government needs to discuss its plan with the affected communities and provide necessities to those still residing in the conservation area.

“We are asking for availability and accessibility of basic services,” Ngari said. “So there needs to be a restoration of funding and resources to the Ngorongoro conservation area. This has been removed by the government.”

The New York-based group says the government needs to respect the rights of the indigenous people and ensure their survival, well-being, and dignity.