YOU ARE MAKING IT HAPPEN!
Against impossible odds, the Maasai community is winning its fight to regain Mau Narok! But ultimate victory is only possible with the support of friends outside of Maasailand. Please consider giving in the following ways:
- Our greatest need is for funds to pay expenses related to the court case, to bring witnesses to testify, gather evidence and pay legal fees and assistance. No contribution is too small and your help is greatly appreciated.
- Tell your friends! Forward our website on and spread the word.
You can donate using any major credit card:
Or send donations to:
Prescott College Development Office 220 Grove Ave Prescott, AZ 86301 or MERC 12036 Hiram Place NE Seattle, WA 98125 All donations are tax exempt.The Maasai Communtiy Partnership Project is made possible by the donated time, energy and money of supporters who share in our vision of equality and justice for the Maasai people and the transformative potential of ethical cross-cultural collaborations.The Partnership Project shares 501(c)-3 status with both MERC and Prescott College to allow our supporters to benefit from tax-deductible donations. No members of the Partnership Project receive a salary for their work with the program, although we create jobs for our Maasai colleagues as we are able. One hundred percent of monetary gifts go to developing and maintaining our grassroots community initiatives.
You can help by also sending this email on to your contacts:
PLEASE HELP THE MAASAI COMMUNITY OF KENYA REALIZE A DREAM FOR JUSTICE AND RIGHTS TO ANCESTRAL LAND
In Kenya, a current critical court case is at a tipping point. This case deals with important land rights and judicial access issues in Kenya that have far-reaching implications beyond the immediate plaintiffs-52 individuals in the Maasai community.
I am Dr. Mary Poole, a professor at Prescott College in Arizona, and I am writing on behalf of my colleague Meitamei Olol Dapash, an elder and leader among the Maasai community of Kenya, and the Maasai Community Partnership Project. Since 2008, the Maasai community has been fighting for the return of Mau Narok, a 30,000 acre parcel of ancestral land appropriated under colonialism. Since Independence in 1963, it has been occupied and used by a few wealthy individuals associated with the Kenyan government.
In January 2010, after two years of organizing and fund raising, the 52 Maasai filed suit in Kenyan court to see this land returned to the community for its shared use. The goal from that point has been to receive a fair hearing in court on a land rights issue, something which has been heretofore blocked by the political environment in Kenya. The Kenyan judicial system, however, is now supporting this effort, assigning a panel of judges to what is widely regarded as a precedent setting constitutional case about these issues close to the hearts of all Kenyans: land rights and access to justice through courts.
The Maasai people are represented by a single Maasai lawyer and his associate; 14 lawyers represent the defendants. Paramilitary police have evicted Maasai people from the land and arrest orders have been issued for all Maasai leadership. The government attempted to quietly buy and settle the land out from under the legal proceedings. Several judges assigned to this case have stepped down citing its “controversial nature.” Sadly, the lead activist in Mau Narok, our good friend Moses Ole Mpoe, was assassinated in full view of witnesses last December, and all Maasai leadership in this effort continue to receive death threats.
The Maasai community has met every challenge and is winning this fight to present their case in court. Through non-violence training, deep community organizing and education, Maasai people are standing together in what has grown into a movement for civil rights that drew 15,000 Maasai people from across Kenya to Mau Narok last month for a day of fasting and prayer. Kenyan media has provided sympathetic coverage of the land rights issue, and the majority of Kenyans beyond Maasailand support the trial according to television polls. They see it as part of a broader attempt by Kenyans to access justice and challenge corruption.
But the Maasai community has gone as far as it can on its own. Resources are exhausted and the situation, though hopeful, is desperate. The community will not lose its fight for justice due to a lack of heart; they will not abandon the cause or be swayed by self-interest. At this point, they know what it will take to win. They can only lose this fight for justice because of a lack of financial resources. Our lawyer has not been paid in months, court fees continue to mount, and witnesses must be brought to trial. We need to raise $20,000 to keep this movement alive.
As I write today, March 27, Meitamei sits in jail at Mau Narok having been arrested with more than 50 Maasai people, many of them seriously injured by police brutality in a massive assault to clear the land of Maasai people over the past two days. 500 Maasai people are holding vigil outside the jailhouse. Meitamei, using a smuggled phone, texts “My community will not use violence whatever the government does to us. We will remain strong and draw from the spirit of many movements for civil rights and for justice through history.”
As noted earlier, this effort is supported by the Maasai Community Partnership Project, an entirely voluntary collaboration of many years between the Maasai Environmental Resource Coalition, a grassroots CBO in Kenya, and Prescott College in Arizona.
For more information, please see our project website at www.maasaicpp.org. where donations can be made. No donation is too small. And please consider sending this email on to your friends.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mary Poole, PhD
Co-Director, Maasai Community Partnership Project
Cultural and Regional Studies faculty
Prescott College
mpoole@prescott.edu
maasaicpp.org
928-308-6537
