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Kenya's Indigenous Complain of Forceful Eviction From Forests

Mohammed Yusuf

   NAIROBI - The Ogiek and Sengwer ethnic groups in Kenya say authorities
   have forcefully evicted them from the Mau and Embobut forests, burning
   hundreds of homes and leaving families homeless in the middle of the
   COVID-19 pandemic. The Kenyan government began the evictions last year,
   saying communities living in the forests were damaging the environment.
   Rights groups say the ethnic groups were protecting the forests from
   illegal logging and poaching.
   In a media briefing held over Zoom Thursday, Kenya's indigenous
   communities complain of harassment and constant evictions from forests
   they have called home for centuries.

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