Tanzania: Government backs down after Maasai protests

Aug 28, 2024

Tanzania’s government recently attempted to strip over 100,000 Maasai living near the Ngorongoro Crater of their right to vote, a move widely seen as a strategy to force them from their ancestral lands. After widespread protests, the government swiftly reversed its plans. Reports suggest that schools and health services, which had been neglected, are now slated for restoration.

For the past several years, the Maasai in Tanzania have been resisting forced expulsion from their traditional lands under the pretext of nature conservation. The government in the Ngorongoro region has allowed schools and the hospital in the village of Endulen to fall into disrepair, making life increasingly difficult for the community. This pressure is intended to encourage them to “voluntarily” move to Msomera, 600 kilometers away. On June 10, 2022, police and rangers even fired at people in the Loliondo division to drive them off their lands.

Recently, the government attempted to evict 110,000 Maasai from Ngorongoro. For the local elections in November, many Maasai names appeared on voter lists in Msomera, where they do not reside, making it impossible for them to vote. Additionally, the government planned to formally dissolve 25 villages and 11 municipalities, which would have left thousands without homes.

On August 18, between 15,000 and 20,000 Maasai peacefully demonstrated along the roads connecting the tourist destinations of Ngorongoro and Serengeti, blocking them for several hours in protest of the denial and violation of their rights.

Following a ruling by the High Court in Arusha, the government abandoned its plans to strip people of their voting rights within days. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has also ordered the restoration of essential services such as healthcare and education, according to our partner Yannick Ndoinyo from the Maasai organization TEST. The planned dissolution of the villages has been suspended, pending a court ruling.

Ndoinyo is now monitoring whether the government’s resolutions and announcements are actually being implemented. In Loliondo as well, the rights of his people must finally be respected.

While this is a big step forward, our petition, “Stop the eviction of the Maasai from Ngorongoro,” will remain online until its goals are fully and permanently achieved. Please sign it if you haven't already done so.

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