In Kajiado district, Maasai community members are protesting a slum resettlement project that is set to take place on their lands in Kisaju and Kitengela, saying it threatens their environment and way of life and may disenfranchise them. Recently, a report by the Kenyan National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) echoed their concerns, describing the project as a threat to security, the environment, and the cultures of the Maasai people.
The housing development is expected to create a new town for 10,000 residents from the slums of Nairobi, offering employment and commercial opportunities.
The project, proposed by the Jamii Bora Trust three years ago, will build 2,000 two-bedroom houses on 293 acres bought from private owners in Kisaju township, fifty kilometers from Nairobi. Costs are estimated at 600 million Kenyan shillings.
The Jamii Bora Trust, founded by Ingrid Munro, is a banking cooperative involved in micro-finance in the slums of Nairobi. The cooperative pools the community’s resources and allocates small loans to poor people in Nairobi so they can start small business ventures, and pay for education, healthcare, and housing. It also runs a health and life insurance program.
Construction has already begun, but the project has been slowed due to opposition from the local Maasai community. The Kisaju and Kitengela region is populated mainly by Maasai and the land to be used for the project was formerly used for grazing. Maasai community members are concerned that an influx of outsiders from Nairobi will negatively impact both their culture and environment.
In a press statement, local Maasai community members of Kisaju and Kitengela affirmed, “We have no problem with the general ideals of the Trust and what it does for the poor in the city slums … However, we totally oppose the idea of pushing onto us the thousands of slum dwellers who, like a storm, will change our lives rapidly and also those of our children.”
The press statement expressed Maasai fears that traditional forms of government will be overshadowed and that the Maasai will assimilate into the development’s Kikuyu majority. They also fear an increase in crime and drug use and the privatization of their lands and resources.
Environmental groups, including Kenya Wildlife Services, also oppose the project. Environmentalists are concerned that the 10,000 additional residents will have a negative impact on the resources and wildlife in the region. They also argue that the development is too close to Nairobi National Park and four kilometers from a wildlife migration corridor. Friends of Nairobi National Park (FoNNaP) are anxious that poaching will increase in the park.
Maasai community members are also concerned about environmental degradation. Water sources, roads, and electricity are currently considered insufficient for the number of people expected to be living in the area. The influx of people to the region poses a threat to biodiversity and wildlife through pollution, hunting, and fuel collection practices.
The Maasai have organized meetings with the county council which approves housing projects and with the Jamii Bora Trust’s board to expressing their concerns. Kisaju and Kitengela Maasai have also tried to garner support from other Maasai communities in Narok and Transmara.
