Is Parliament Part Of A Scheme To Dispossess Communities Of Their Land?

In his numerous talks as a community leader, my father Mzee Daudi Lemukol, a man who never had the privilege of getting an education but has proven to be resourceful, brave, focused and witty in the way he says and chooses his words, once uttered these words: "Land is an integral part in the life of a community. It starts and ends with them. It is their refuge and mother. It is where they were born; it is where they live; and it is where they will be buried... To dispossess them of this resource is to dispossess them of their livelihood, an act they won't take lightly."

Fast-forward to 2014 and the hitherto marginalized lands of Kenya are up in Nairobi's economic radar. A month hardly passes without news of mineral discoveries and/or exploration. Thanks to this newfound wealth, Northern Kenya is for the first time in the history of this nation positively associated with its national economic renewal and progress.

Surprisingly, even those who dismissed these lands - and its people - as a liability and a deadly tumor in the body of the Kenyan State have formatted their minds, erased their past jaundiced memories and jumped on the queue on the Great March on N-Kenya. 

But this story won't be complete without highlighting some key workings making inroads vis-à-vis exploitation of these resources and the place of the local communities in shaping up the road-map to inclusive development.

On top of the list is the flow of information from the relevant authorities in Nairobi, investors and local elites on one hand, to the local communities and their leaders, on the other. Information flow to host communities has proven to be the dividing line between those with intentions to 'eat' and dispossess the people of their wealth and the public interests. 

There is a deliberate move to keep the people in the dark and out of reach of what they ought to know contrary to the Constitutional provisions on the right of citizens to unhindered access to public information.

Community Land Bill comes to mind. The National Assembly has been playing around with this crucial piece of legislation for the last ten months without any clear explanation. Mark you; it is the only piece of law on land matters that has not received parliamentary approval.

As we speak, land dealings continue unhindered without any straight-forward legal framework to protect indigenous communities’ rights and interests. Oil exploration companies are in frenzy sealing deals to beat the system and lock out any community involvement.

Local politicians have maintained a long heady silence. They are totally withdrawn from public awareness campaigns, lawmaking, agitation and follow-up for swift passage of this important law.

Remember, the region has more than sixty Members of Parliament. The Speaker of the Senate is himself a pastoralist and a child an oil-rich county! 

The situation begs so many questions. Is there a deliberate move to delay the passage of Community Land Bill to pave way for land grabbing and strategic profiteering of the elite in order to push the poor illiterate gullible mass of Northern Kenya to the filthy economic corner?

Is this a conspiracy to cover-up any possible symbiotic friendship between government top functionaries and mining/oil companies operating in the region?

Or is this a replay of the last fifty years of economic and political isolation which rendered communities from this resource-rich region an appendage – and not true members - of the wider Kenyan society?

It is for the benefit of all that we ask these questions and look for ways to reconcile any conflicting thoughts and/or actions. 

Any intervention to this corner of Kenya must appreciate the uniqueness of its people. There is no other way of understanding this other than listening and accommodating the views of the people. 

To foist foreign, repulsive ideas on a population that is ready to share its views with regards to land use and exploitation is to reduce its members to a bunch of woolly-headed dummies. It is akin to disregarding their age-old wisdom and place in their ancestral land.

It smacks of entrenched elitism that runs counter the interests of the populace. 

The point is clear: This won't go down well with the people. It is time we restructured our thoughts and saved the situation.

Let's learn from history. Strong and wise leaders are those who rise up to offer guidance before the situation gets out of hand. Demagogues are those that take part in the loot or maintain silence when highly needed but resurface when everything has come a cropper.

The writings are out there for everybody to see. Now is the time for those who claim they were marginalized for fifty years to rise up and unite and push for the enactment of Community Land Bill as a matter of priority. Now is the time to shake off the dust of subjugation.

But how is this possible? It is by sidelining our ego and drink from the cup of the collective-good. It is by marginalizing the beliefs that keep us glued to those unbended philosophies of greed and self-aggrandizement that have kept people lagging behind and in constant nagging and lamentations.

We must confront this monster now or else history will judge us harshly. Pass a strong pro-people Community Land Bill and free northern Kenya communities from the marauding greed of profiteers!

The writer is an Architect. Twitter:  @mlemukol.  Email:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.