Ndumbaro Tells Dangerous Lies about Loliondo, Majaliwa Holds Fraudulent Spectacle about NCA with the Imposter Lekisongo, and Maasai Land is Attacked in Every Other Way

 

After PM Kassim Majaliwa’s agenda-driven, tricky (his kind of word), and non-listening visits to Loliondo and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in mid-February (see previous blog posts) there have been protest and prayer meetings in both Loliondo and NCA, statements, further contributions to the anti-Maasai ethnic hate campaign, very confused media coverage, international solidarity, and the president selling Tanzania in Dubai. Another issue that urgently should (but won't) be brought to light, is that the government has used an ill-intentioned law to kill the case against Thomson Safaris that’s older than this law. 

I may have written this before, but at calmer times, these developments could all have got their own blog post. Now, I’m not even keeping up. Then Ndumbaro started telling full-blown Kagasheki-style lies about Loliondo to Deutsche Welle, and the following day Majaliwa held a misleading spectacle with traditional leaders not from Ngorongoro to receive a list of households willing to “voluntarily” relocate from NCA. I hope I haven't missed anything important and that this blog post will be read depite its length.

 

Reportedly, Majaliwa will very soon visit Ngorongoro.

Update 15th March: Majaliwa's visit has been postponed. 

 

While the anti-Maasai hate campaign is speeding and spinning with its more malicious disinformation, not enough of an effort is made to at least make serious people and allies keep to facts. Those who don’t know anything make up their own “facts”, and those who know are too polite to correct them, or worse ... I’ve almost myself stopped telling writers about their mistakes after publication, since corrections are never made, and too often misconceptions are kept even when information is received before publication.

 

These are three different, but closely related problems:

In Loliondo OBC, that organises hunting for Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai, have for years lobbied to have 1,500 km² of important grazing land, village land belonging to the local Maasai, turned into a protected area. A local police state had, until recently, silenced all local leaders and activists, and still people from Loliondo are much more silent in the debate than those from NCA.

 

In NCA, an 8,292 km² multiple land use area, the Maasai live under the purposeful poverty-inducing rule and restrictions of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, and since 2019 there’s a genocidal eviction plan, that extends to annexing some surrounding areas, the area under threat in Loliondo included. Current government efforts focus on “voluntary” relocation and disinformation, while an ethnic hate campaign rages in media and in the parliament.

In Loliondo, but outside the 1,500 km2 area, the American Thomson Safaris claim ownership of a 12,617 acres private nature refuge and have copied OBC’s use of the local police state. Sadly, for years it’s been basically impossible to get information about this land grab. 

 

In this blog post:

Loliondo after Majaliwa’s trick

Ndumbaro lying about the 1,500 km²

The government’s many tricks to grab the 1,500 km²

Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Majaliwa keeps tricking

The anti-Maasai hate campaign does not stop

The president selling Tanzania in Dubai

Government kills the Thomson Safaris case in the court of appeal

 

Deputy Minister Masanja's caravan of women on 5th March. The MNRT's ideal land use.