Litigation as a Tool for Community Empowerment: The Case of Kenya's Ogiek

10 Pages Posted: 8 May 2018

Date Written: April 2018

Abstract

In May 2017, the Ogiek indigenous community of Kenya successfully challenged the denial of their land and associated rights before the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights (‘the Court’). In the first indigenous peoples’ rights case considered the Court, and by far the largest ever case it has had to consider, the Court found violations of Articles 1, 2, 8, 14, 17 (2) and (3), 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (‘the African Charter’). It therefore created a major legal precedent. In addition, the litigation itself and Ogiek’s participation in the various stages of the legal process provided a model for community engagement, through which the Ogiek were empowered to better understand and advocate for their rights. This article will first explain the history of the case and the Court’s findings, and then move on to examine in further detail methods employed to build the Ogiek’s capacity throughout, and even beyond, the litigation. In May 2017, the Ogiek indigenous community of Kenya successfully challenged the denial of their land and associated rights before the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights (‘the Court’). In the first indigenous peoples’ rights case considered by the Court, and by far the largest ever case it has had to consider, the Court found violations of the Ogiek’s rights to freedom from discrimination, to free practice of religion, to property, to cultural life, to natural resources and to development and other measures under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights1 (‘the African Charter’).2 It therefore created a major legal precedent. In addition, the litigation itself and Ogiek’s participation in the various stages of the legal process provided a model for community engagement, through which the Ogiek were empowered to better understand and advocate for their rights. This article will first explain the history of the case and the Court’s findings and then move on to examine in further detail methods employed to build the Ogiek’s capacity throughout, and even beyond, the litigation.

Keywords: Litigation, indigenous peoples’ rights, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, community empowerment

Suggested Citation

Claridge, Lucy, Litigation as a Tool for Community Empowerment: The Case of Kenya's Ogiek (April 2018). Erasmus Law Review, Vol. 11, No. 01, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3174696

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