African court orders Kenya to pay $1.21 million to Ogiek community

The Court noted that Kenya has failed to implement earlier judgments, including the 2017 merits ruling and the 2022 reparations decision.

The Court directed Kenya to pay $438,900 for material damages and $770,000 for moral damages. It also emphasised that Kenya must recognise the Ogiek as an Indigenous people, demarcate and secure their ancestral land, and issue collective land titles.

Despite reports that Kenya had established task forces and engaged in consultations, the Court said these measures “fall far short of the legally required level of compliance.” It stressed that consultations must be genuine, culturally respectful, and include actual decision-making by the community.

The Court further noted that Kenya had not set up the Ogiek Community Development Fund or its management committee, nor published the 2017 and 2022 judgments as required. Delays cited by Kenya due to political transitions were dismissed by the Court.

Kenya was also reminded to address leases and special-use arrangements on Ogiek land, ensuring structured consultations with affected parties for compensation or restoration.

The Ogiek community continues to face evictions, destruction of homes, and denial of land rights. The Court stressed that full implementation of existing rulings is sufficient to protect them and declined to issue new provisional measures.

The case, Application No. 006/2012, was brought by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It stems from long-standing disputes over the Mau Forest, ancestral home to an estimated 20,000 Ogiek, 15,000 of whom still live in the forest complex covering roughly 400,000 hectares.

In 2009, the Kenya Forestry Service issued a 30-day eviction notice to the Ogiek. A complaint was subsequently lodged with the African Commission, which referred the matter to the African Court in 2012