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By Ben Ole Koissaba
Two people killed, four government officials arrested as Maasai protest mismanagement of resources in Narok County, Kenya.

A senator and three members of parliament were arrested on January 29, 2015 by Criminal Investigation officials in Nairobi after being required to write detailed accounts regarding a peaceful demonstration that turned ugly when police opened fire, killing at least one person and injuring scores of others in Narok County.

The right to health is the most basic of human rights, argues Indigenous Maasai scholar Ben Koissaba, of Kenya, in conclusion to his participation at the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples that took place September 2014 in New York.  “[It’s] fulfillment is both a precondition to, and a by-product of, the enjoyment of all other rights,” he explains.  In a recent publication, Koissaba evaluated progress towards the right to health for Indigenous Peoples of Africa. Around the world, Indigenous Peoples suffer from greater illness and poorer quality of care than other groups.

By Ben Koissaba

Reminiscent of what happened to the Maasai community in Narasha in 2013, Maasai pastoralists in Kedong, Akira and Suswa are glaring at massive evictions arising from a group of concessions awarded to several companies including Hyundai, Toshiba, Sinopec and African Geothermal International (AGIL) for the purposes of developing geothermal projects on the Maasai lands.

On April 7, 2014, in a magistrate courtroom in Nanyuki, Kenya, Samburu community members and their supporters battling for their land rights in Laikipia went head to head with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), President Moi, and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) as they attempted to restore the criminal case against the Samburu tribe. Those in attendance were a number of Samburu elders, Lempaa Suyianka for Katiba Institute, Ngigi for Prof Yash, and Carol Mburugu for Kituo Cha Sharia.

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