Win for Isiolo residents as court orders closure of conservancies on community land
They sued Northern Rangelands Trust which was operating as the umbrella for CBOs running wildlife conservancies in unregistered community lands.
The High Court in Isiolo has ordered the closure of several conservancies operating illegally in the county and restrained their operators from displacing residents to set up the conservation centres.
Justice Oscar Angote revoked licences issued to community-based organisations (CBOs) operating the Cherab and Bulesa Bilingo community conservancies and terminated their operations in Merti Sub-County.
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The order extends to conservancies operated elsewhere in the county, even though they had not been included in the suit by residents of Chari and Cherab wards who had sued the conservancies.
The residents had sued the owners of the said conservancies that purported to establish them on unregistered community land without the consent of locals.
They had sued the Northern Rangelands Trust and individuals listed as its associates, Isiolo County government, the Ministry of Lands, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Isiolo County commissioner as respondents.
The residents wanted the High Court to prohibit the respondents from establishing conservancies in the two wards and elsewhere in the county and the same was obtained.
The Northern Rangelands Trust was planning to set up further conservancies which would have disenfranchised the community by taking away their grazing lands, rendering them homeless.
The community also risked losing important cultural sites such as Kura Dissan Owwo graveyard in Ires Roba Sentho, Ires Kira, Ires Saku, Ires Wadha, Ires Ture and Ires Buuna.
"The (conservationists) with the muscle of the rangers and the local administration, continue to intimidate, coerce and threaten their community leaders when they attempt to oppose any of their plans, hence threatening the community's rights to security to security and human dignity," the court recorded during the hearings.
The community wanted the High Court to declare that the conservancies were established illegally.
No mapping, surveying
Justice Angote prohibited the owners of the conservancies from entering, mapping, surveying and delineating, carrying out conservancy operations, evicting community members, carrying out any activities in any way or disposing of the community land in Chari and Cherab wards and the entire Isiolo County.
"The court is hereby pleased to issue a permanent injunction stopping, prohibiting and forbidding the respondents jointly and severally, whether acting by themselves, their agents, servants, representatives and assignees or umbrella bodies of Northern Rangelands Trust and an injunction against any CBOs acting for on the respondents' instructions," stated Angote.
They were also prohibited from entering into any agreement on behalf of the community without undertaking documented public participation as mandated by the law and involving the residents.
Justice Angote directed the Isiolo County government to manage the unregistered community lands.
The judge prohibited recruitment or contracting for services of rangers, drivers or any other conservation personnel by the conservancies and ordered KWS to take charge of all conservation activities in the county as mandated by law.
The residents had sued to enforce indigenous, pastoralist and community land that is jointly and severally owned by them pursuant to Articles 3 (1) 22 (1) and 258 of the Constitution.
Unregistered community land
They sued Northern Rangelands Trust which was operating as the umbrella for CBOs running wildlife conservancies in unregistered community lands without express consent and approval of the residents.
The residents had told the court that registering the community and its community land has been met with untold frustrations from authorities.
"They contend that as long as community land registration is pending, any attempts to establish a wildlife conservancy is premature and ought to be stopped," said Justice Angote.
They wanted the lands to remain under the management of the county government.
Angote said the KWS is a uniformed and disciplined service established under the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act with the mandate to provide security and offer advisory services relating to the conservation of wildlife and the establishment of conservancies and sanctuaries.
Residents had accused the KWS of abdicating its mandate without any structure or proper regulation which has left the Northern Rangelands Trust to take up that mandate despite objections and protests from the community. The trust was planning to set up further conservancies in the county.
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