Disregard for a Decade: Court Decision on Ogiek Rights Remains Unheeded

==============================================================================

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has ruled that Kenya violated the rights of the Ogiek community, an indigenous group, regarding their land, culture, and religion. However, the Kenyan government's response to these rulings has been met with inaction, causing growing concerns.

In 2012, the matter was referred to the African Court, which, in 2017, unanimously ruled that Kenya had violated the Ogiek community's rights to non-discrimination, property, culture, and religion. The court also affirmed that the Ogiek are a distinct indigenous group entitled to ancestral land and cultural protections.

Despite this ruling, the Kenyan government has yet to fully implement the African Court's decision. In 2019, a government-appointed task force was established to advise on implementation, but its report remains confidential. The National Lands Commission has been tasked with the implementation based on historical injustices.

The court ordered Kenya to pay compensation, grant collective land titles, recognise the Ogiek as an indigenous people, and establish a community development fund within 12 months. A second judgment in June 2022 reiterated these demands, and the government announced its intention to fully implement the rulings by recognising the Ogiek people's land rights, ensuring their restitution and protection, and working towards their social and economic inclusion by June 2023.

However, none of these measures have been implemented. Public hearings and consultations with the Ogiek community have taken place as part of the implementation process, but the community is still waiting for the court to rule on the detailed implementation plan that the government of Kenya had been asked to provide.

The Commission's director has observed a trend of government inaction in implementing decisions from the African bodies. Anne Okutoyi, Director at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), has expressed concerns about the government's failure to implement the African Court's rulings in favour of the community. KNCHR stated that the African Court's decisions, such as the unanimous ruling in the Ogiek case, are binding and final under the charter and protocol that Kenya ratified.

The Ogiek fear that individual land titles for households would subject them to land grabbing and erosion of their culture. They are awaiting the court's ruling on the detailed implementation plan to ensure that their collective rights are protected.

Kenya's failure to take progressive steps towards implementing these rulings raises serious concerns about its commitment to regional judicial authority. The Ogiek case is not unique; it is one of several decisions that have been met with inaction by states. The international community continues to monitor the situation closely, hoping for a resolution that upholds the rights of the Ogiek community and sets a precedent for the protection of indigenous rights across Africa.