Court restores rights of Endorois to Arabal land

A Nakuru court has quashed the gazettement of Arabal Community land in 2016, after finding the state violated the rights of the Endorois people.

The Environment and Land Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Endorois Welfare Council led by Richard Kamingóror, declaring the gazettement of Arabal Location as a public forest unconstitutional.

The process, initiated by the Kenya Forest Service following a request from the neighbouring Ilchamus community, failed to consider the Endorois’ land rights, public participation requirements and statutory procedures governing conversion of community land.

Members of the Endorois community and other residents who were directly affected by the decision to gazette part of Arabal Location as forest land were not consulted.

“The petitioner contends that the alleged conversion of land into forest land was carried out without public participation, due process and in disregard of the rights of the Endorois community under Articles 10, 40, 42 and 63 of the Constitution, as well as the provisions of the Community Land Act, 2016,” the court heard.

On behalf of the community, the Baringo government also wrote to the then Environment CS Judi Wakhungu objecting to the proposed gazettement.

“Despite these objections, Gazette Notice No 1470 was issued on March 11, 2016, purporting to declare the subject land as forest land. Members of the community were displaced from their ancestral land and were neither consulted nor involved in the gazettement process.”

In a response dated May 21, 2025, Evans Kegode from the Kenya Forest Service said the gazettement was a “community-driven initiative to reserve community land as a forest reserve”.

“He stated that the community approached the Forester Marigat in 2013 seeking guidance on reserving the area for conservation, citing displacement and destruction of the water catchment area as concerns.”

In her judgment, Justice Millicent Odeny found that constitutional requirements had not been met. She noted that although some community leaders were consulted, their objections were not addressed, and the existence of schools, dispensaries and private property within the affected area was overlooked.

Evidence also showed the National Land Commission had raised concerns in a letter dated March 30, 2016, citing unresolved issues. “Having found that there was a lack of public participation prior to the gazettement of the community land to a forest, it follows that the respondents did not adhere to the laid-down procedures of conversion of community land to public land,” Odeny stated.

“If the affected communities and the respondents wish to convert the community land to public forest, they are at liberty to follow the procedures under the Community Land Act and Forest Conservation and Management Act, with the participation of members of the Endorois community, through transparency and meaningful engagement.”

She issued a permanent injunction restraining the respondents, their agents or persons acting under their authority from evicting, displacing or interfering with the petitioners’ use, occupation and enjoyment of the community land within Arabal Location.