‘Back as one’: Endorois are jumping for joy
by Survival
Thousands of people from the Endorois tribe met in ritual celebration last weekend as they returned to their ancestral home, around Lake Bogoria, in Kenya’s famous Rift Valley after an absence of thirty years.
Endorois celebration on the banks of Lake Bogoria in Kenya. © Survival
They were thrown off their lands in a series of evictions that began in 1973, so that the government could transform their land into the Lake Bogoria National Reserve.
The African Union endorsed a ruling earlier this year that confirmed the eviction had been illegal.
The Union confirmed the Endorois’ right to access Lake Bogoria at any time, to return to their ancestral land, and to benefit from the successful tourist operation established there during the tribe’s exile.
The Endorois marched to the banks of Lake Bogoria, lit a ceremonial fire and danced in celebration throughout the day.
At the celebration, one Endorois woman said ‘Time has scattered our little group to the four winds. So much has changed. But God has answered our prayers and hopefully we will be back as one.’
Members of the Ogiek tribe and others also joined in the celebrations. The ruling could have significant repercussions for tribal peoples’ rights throughout Africa.