The Ogiek community now wants the Kenya Forest Service to expedite the demarcation of the Mau forest to avert human encroachment on the water catchment area.
Through Ogiek People’s Development Program (OPDP) the community also called upon the state to fast-track the implementation of the Arusha ruling that granted the community right to access a section of the forest.
The community said illegal farming and grazing are threatening the water tower two years after the state halted the beaconing of the public forest at the height of emotive politics.
Goibei spoke in Mariashoni, Molo during the sixth commemoration of the ruling of the African Union Court in Arusha, Tanzania called for a fresh round of bipartisan consultation between beneficiaries of the concessional lease program and the Ogiek community.
This comes amidst calls to the government to fast-track implementation of the Arusha ruling that grants the community access to a section of the forest.
The contentions arose amidst allegations of third parties in the concessional arrangement billed as the Shamba system, leasing parcels of land from Kenya Forest Service to practice agro-forestry at the expense of the community’s cultural practices.
The Ogiek community collectively comprises 40,000 members spread out across Narok, Nakuru, Kericho, and Bomet Counties.
