TWENTY-five people accused of murder in the land dispute in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro District are to appear in court on Thursday in Arusha amid accusations from the country’s human rights defenders that the process is tilted against local people.
Earlier this year, the Tanzanian government renewed its attempts to move some 80,000 Maasai pastoralists from the region in the country’s north, citing the need to protect wildlife sanctuaries in the area.
The herders said this would mean that they would no longer have land to graze their cattle, arguing that the government wanted to move them from their ancestral land.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) said the move was to reduce human activities in an area that included one of UNESCO’s cultural heritage sites.
Local politicians and the affected communities, on the hand, claim that the decision was to appease foreign tourists.
As tempers rose, a police officer was killed during clashes on June 10, and the 25 accused are now facing trial for conspiracy to commit murder and causing the death of a police officer.
Meanwhile, the Tanzania Human Right Defenders Coalition (THRDC) has entered the fray, with its representatives and members of civil society organisations having a meeting with various government departments in late June.
Both sides, which included the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, and the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance, discussed alleged human
rights violations in Ngorongoro District and how best to resolve the simmering land dispute.
The human rights defender pointed out that such disputes in the area ‘have existed for a long time leading to serious human rights violations especially to the residents of Loliondo division’.
In the current situation, they accused the government of harassment of the Maasai in Loliondo, as well as harassment of human rights defenders and their organisations.
The THRDC said in a statement: ‘Human rights defenders who have been defending the rights of pastoralists in Loliondo and Ngorongoro divisions have been facing challenges that hold them back, including being perceived as instigators of the land dispute.
‘Some of the challenges have been fuelled by government officials and the media without any evidence being presented to the public.’
This, the THRDC said, had led to ‘declining public confidence in human rights defenders/civil society organisations’.
The statement added: ‘Some activists work under fear and others have been fleeing from their
workplaces.
‘The effect is that if HRDs are prevented from speaking, it means that outsiders
will speak on behalf of the community and perhaps others may say things that suit their interests.’
The THRDC expressed concern about misinformation surrounding the land dispute, adding: ‘To address such a challenge, it is important for both parties to focus on providing accurate information to the public.’
It suggested that the best way to resolve the dispute was to have ‘candid and positive discussions’ with the villagers and the government.
In a number of recommendations, the THRDC called on interested parties to ‘refrain from making discriminatory statements and instead continue to build unity and trust in finding solutions’ to the dispute; for human rights defenders being allowed a ‘better
environment for their work so that they can contribute effectively’ to resolving the quarrel; and for the government to ‘suspend ongoing operations’ in the area and engage the local community on how best to conserve it.
In the meantime, the government was called upon to continue to provide all basic services to the people in Ngorongoro while making concrete plans for those who would agree to voluntary relocate to another area.
