President Samia Keeps Threatening the Maasai of Ngorongoro, PM Majaliwa has Received Community Recommendations, and OBC’s Director is Back to Sharing His Views in Media

 

Another delayed blog post that’s too long, since too much is happening when I am about to publish, some information is impossible to obtain, I can’t keep up, and it must be put in context to avoid the confusion that will happen anyway. The president continues as a most significant threat to the Ngorongoro Maasai, OBC’s director has broken his media silence, harassment goes on, and then the Oakland Institute published a report about the anomalous relocation plans. “Community recommendations” on NCA and Loliondo/Sale have been handed over to PM Majaliwa to whose tune it’s not advisable to dance, which everyone has understood long ago, I hope. The NCA report is available and impressive. I must write more about it in another post.

 

In this blog post:

NCA:

The president insulting the Maasai and her hosts

The president’s Ngorongoro fixation

A reminder of the efforts for “voluntary” evictions

Dangerous dance with Majaliwa

Oakland report on resettlement plans

Some of NCAA’s “preparations” the past year

Transfer of local NCAA workers

Ngorongoro youths arrested by SENAPA rangers

Ngorongoro Conservation Area brief background

Loliondo:

OBC’s director Mollel breaks his long media silence

The confusion

OBC’s “journalist” again

This year’s Loliondo arrests

Brief reminder about the efforts to rob the Maasai of 1,500 km2 in Loliondo

The Ngorongoro MP Spoke Up in Parliament About the Shocking Transfer to Handeni of Funds for Public Services, in Loliondo the Intimidation of Local Leaders Continues, and The Royal Tour is Used as Expected

 

Rest in peace Anny Daniel Laizer. My condolences to family and friends.

 

In the latest blog post, among several other issues, I mentioned that in addition to decades of other restrictions and harassment, obviously meant to drive the Maasai out of Ngorongoro Conservation Area, since 2021 the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) has been blocking all new, already funded, public service projects. While writing (now long ago), I was asking for more details about what projects were being blocked, and since then such a list has been shared, and later letters were made public in which schools in Ngorongoro Conservation Area were being ordered to send Covid-19 funds already in their accounts to the account of Handeni District Council. On 13^th April, the Ngorongoro MP Emmanuel Oleshangai, spoke up in the national assembly, and in a confident way fought off several intervening ministers.

Update: on 6th May, Lendukai Kimaay, who was one of those writing the report on community views to be handed to PM Majaliwa, was arrested in Karatu and then taken to Arusha for interrogation. He was released on the 7th.

Update: On 6^th May. the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues called on the government of Tanzania to immediately cease efforts to evict the Maasai people from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

 

Meanwhile, I’m worried that not enough attention is given to protect the 1,500 km² in Loliondo that this year has been seriously threatened by both the Arusha RC, the PM and the former Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, and as reported in the latest blog post, in a new turn of the Loliondo police state the councillor of Arash was arrested, or abducted, by his own CCM party for speaking up. On Easter Eve the illegal arrests of councillors continued with those from Malambo, Piyaya, and Maaloni. The councillors of Arash and Malambo must keep reporting to the police. The latest I heard is that the Malambo village chairman and a traditional leader are summoned to the Loliondo police tomorrow, 6th May.

 

In President Samia’s own “documentary” The Royal Tour, the words about the Maasai were as if preparing for evictions from Ngorongoro, and in a related interview she now also mentioned Loliondo, trying to engage in the usual anti-Loliondo rhetoric by the MNRT and investors, without getting even that right.  

 

In this blog post:

Blocked public services in Ngorongoro Division

Ngorongoro Conservation Area brief background

NCA developments since 2021

Public services as weapon of war

Intimidation continues, but Loliondo is not back to silence, I hope

Brief reminder about the efforts to rob the Maasai of 1,500 km² in Loliondo

The Royal Tour