It is not clear if the mapping the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) did on the so called "County Hotspots" included Kajiado but there is enough resentment to classify it as a hot spot. The Maasai feel besieged and overrun by other communities, especially the Kikuyu.
They are are alive to the fact that they welcomed them and other communities over the years and even sold land willingly. But they are angry at the levels of fraudulent land purchase processes by cartels, among government officers, ranging from the Provincial administration, lands and survey departments and their agents who take advantage of them.
They are also unhappy with some of their own kinsmen, especially the ones managing the ranches and conservancies who have also perpetrated fraud on them, often refusing to be transparent in their management of the resources or seeking to benefit from the subdivision of the plots.
During a recent forum at Loitoktok attended by about 40 stakeholders drawn from the entire county, it was clear the people are seething with anger over cases of what they say are arm twisting and plain fraud being visited on them by land buying cartels.
They claimed some of the government officer look at Kajiado as "a gold mine" and often resist or quash transfers to other region because of the bounties of this county. The level of economic colonization by non Maasai is just beginning to sink in and with it is emerging political control, sometimes, overtly through the sponsorship of weak Maasai candidates or those who are less likely to openly advocate for Maasai interests.
The forum, organized by Freidrich Ebert Foundation in partnership with the Kenya Correspondents Association explored issues of national cohesion, conflict mitigation, resource mapping and investment for the new county with the focus of diffusing the simmering ethnic tensions.
There is a silent revolution among the Maasai over the land question born out of these bitter experiences and they have began to quietly plan how to counter what they believe is injustice from which their numerous attempts to get help have often hit brick wall due to the power and influence of those involved.
Key issues discussed included mapping and developing strategies to utilize or exploit the resources such as land, wildlife and tourism, livestock, sand, Magadi soda and other minerals, improvement of infrastructure, planning the towns, improvement of education and enhancing citizens participation.
Kajiado residents are opposed to the expansion of Nairobi to cover some parts of thecounty and Nairobi better be prepared to negotiate this within the context of any development plans that the Nairobi Metropolitan Ministry and other agencies may design.
Quite clearly, the communities that have settled among the Maasai must be alive to the undercurrents and begin to engage and not brandish the constitution as their"shield and defender"in their unmitigated thirst for Massai land and other resources, including the increasing political hegemony that has began to so rankle the Maa community.
Indeed NCIC and other players have a job in their hands to manage the delicate relations between communities here and other multi-ethnic counties in the count down to the implementation of devolution. It would be foolhardy to create counties purely for certain communities but immigrant communities have no choice but to also behave with decorum and manage their relations with the host communities.
They are are alive to the fact that they welcomed them and other communities over the years and even sold land willingly. But they are angry at the levels of fraudulent land purchase processes by cartels, among government officers, ranging from the Provincial administration, lands and survey departments and their agents who take advantage of them.
They are also unhappy with some of their own kinsmen, especially the ones managing the ranches and conservancies who have also perpetrated fraud on them, often refusing to be transparent in their management of the resources or seeking to benefit from the subdivision of the plots.
During a recent forum at Loitoktok attended by about 40 stakeholders drawn from the entire county, it was clear the people are seething with anger over cases of what they say are arm twisting and plain fraud being visited on them by land buying cartels.
"If you want to sell 50 acres, the land registrar and a chain of people involved in processing the purchase will add another 50 acres behind your back in his name, friends or "clients" and before you know it, you have lost a huge chunk of your land!," said one of the participants, bitterly.
They claimed some of the government officer look at Kajiado as "a gold mine" and often resist or quash transfers to other region because of the bounties of this county. The level of economic colonization by non Maasai is just beginning to sink in and with it is emerging political control, sometimes, overtly through the sponsorship of weak Maasai candidates or those who are less likely to openly advocate for Maasai interests.
The forum, organized by Freidrich Ebert Foundation in partnership with the Kenya Correspondents Association explored issues of national cohesion, conflict mitigation, resource mapping and investment for the new county with the focus of diffusing the simmering ethnic tensions.
There is a silent revolution among the Maasai over the land question born out of these bitter experiences and they have began to quietly plan how to counter what they believe is injustice from which their numerous attempts to get help have often hit brick wall due to the power and influence of those involved.
Key issues discussed included mapping and developing strategies to utilize or exploit the resources such as land, wildlife and tourism, livestock, sand, Magadi soda and other minerals, improvement of infrastructure, planning the towns, improvement of education and enhancing citizens participation.
Kajiado residents are opposed to the expansion of Nairobi to cover some parts of thecounty and Nairobi better be prepared to negotiate this within the context of any development plans that the Nairobi Metropolitan Ministry and other agencies may design.
Quite clearly, the communities that have settled among the Maasai must be alive to the undercurrents and begin to engage and not brandish the constitution as their"shield and defender"in their unmitigated thirst for Massai land and other resources, including the increasing political hegemony that has began to so rankle the Maa community.
Indeed NCIC and other players have a job in their hands to manage the delicate relations between communities here and other multi-ethnic counties in the count down to the implementation of devolution. It would be foolhardy to create counties purely for certain communities but immigrant communities have no choice but to also behave with decorum and manage their relations with the host communities.
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