ARUSHA, Tanzania
The government of Tanzania has ordered the restoration of social services including education, health and government services that had deteriorated in Ngorongoro Division in Arusha region in recent months.
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| Minister of State, Office of the Prime Minister; Policy, Parliament and Coordination, William Lukuvi pleading with demonstrating Maasai community to discontinue their pretest. |
Residents of Ngorongoro in northern Tanzania, staged demonstration since Sunday August 18, demanding the protection of their fundamental rights which they claim have been undermined by the government over the past four years.
Early this month, the government removed the ‘Ngorongoro division area’ from the voters’ register, denying over 100,000 Maasai pastoralists their right to vote in the upcoming civic polls and next year's general elections.
The government decision was announced Friday August 23 by team of ministers sent by president Samia Hassan, following a week long demonstrations staged by Maasai Community living in Ngorongoro.
Minister of State, Office of the Prime Minister; Policy, Parliament and Coordination, William Lukuvi, announced the decision when he was talking to the citizens of the 11 Wards in the Ngorongoro Division have been demonstrating wanting to know the fate of their complaints.
The Ngorongoro division in northern Tanzania is home to thousands of Maasai pastoralists and is conspicuously absent from the roster of polling centres released by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and seen by our reporter.
The demonstrators, voiced their grievances about a series of government actions that they say have led to land rights violations, denial of voter registration and forced eviction from their ancestral land.
The president Hassan's administration have been reallocating the Masaai community from their ancestral land to Tanga region for preservation reasons.
It has offered to build new homes to encourage voluntary relocation for those who agree to move to Msomera, Handeni district in Tanga region; some 377 km away.
The move has provoked strong criticism, with human rights campaigners terming it part of a broader strategy to expel the ethnic group from their ancestral land.
The region, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage site, has become a flashpoint in the conflict between the government and local communities.
While officials maintain the relocation is voluntary, they have hinted at future legislation that would prohibit any residents from remaining in Ngorongoro.
By April 2024, the government reported spending Tsh. 286 billion on the relocation effort which has resulted in approximately 8,364 residents moving since July 2022.
However, many Maasai remaining in Ngorongoro have voiced concerns about discriminatory practices, including the need for special permits to enter and exit Ngorongoro.
Residents complained about the withdrawal of essential services such as education and healthcare, with funding reportedly diverted to Msomera.
Both the Ngorongoro Member of Parliament and human rights organizations have confirmed these shifts in funding.
Videos shared through social media showed the protestors blocking the Ngorongoro to Serengeti highway as tourist vehicles parked to wait for the road opening.
Speaking at the protest, one demonstrator voiced his frustration: "We are blocking this highway out of choice; we are doing it out of necessity."
"For too long, our voices have been ignored, and our rights have been trampled," another was heard as saying.
"This is our last resort to draw attention to our plight and demand the respect and dignity we deserve," added another protestor.
Tanzania allows coexistence of the wild animals with the humans in Ngorongoro but the government is now concerned by the growth of the population of both people and domestic animals.
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