The Sengwer, also known as the Cherangany, are an indigenous forest-dwelling community in Kenya who traditionally inhabit the Embobut Forest and the broader Cherangany Hills ecosystem in West Pokot and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties. The Sengwer population is estimated at approximately 30,000 to 40,000 people, though estimates vary. They speak a Southern Nilotic language related to the Pokot language and are distinguished from the neighboring Pokot by their historically forest-based livelihood system centered on honey harvesting, hunting, and forest gathering rather than predominantly pastoral activities. The Sengwer have faced repeated evictions from the Embobut Forest since the colonial period, with the most recent and internationally prominent evictions occurring between 2014 and 2019 under a European Union-funded Kenya Forest Service program aimed at restoring the Cherangany Hills water catchment area. These evictions, which involved burning of homes and physical violence against community members, generated significant international criticism and were the subject of complaints to the European Union and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The Sengwer case has become central to debates about indigenous rights, forest conservation policy, and the responsibilities of international funders when development programs result in human rights violations.
Historical Context
The Sengwer's historical occupation of the Embobut Forest and Cherangany Hills predates the colonial period, with oral histories and anthropological evidence supporting long-term habitation of these forested areas. During the colonial period, the forests were gazetted as Crown land and forest reserves, restricting Sengwer access and movement. The colonial administration categorized the Sengwer within the broader Pokot administrative structure, which contributed to the marginalization of their distinct identity and land claims.
Post-independence land and forest policy maintained colonial restrictions. Settlement schemes established in the Cherangany region brought agricultural communities from other parts of Kenya into the forest margins, increasing pressure on forest resources. The Sengwer themselves were subjected to periodic eviction notices and operations throughout the post-independence period, but community resistance and the practical difficulties of displacement meant that many Sengwer continued to live in the forest.
The EU-funded Water Towers Protection and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Programme, which ran from 2010 onward, aimed to restore degraded forest areas in the Cherangany Hills and other water towers. The Kenya Forest Service conducted eviction operations under this program that human rights organizations documented as involving beatings, burning of homes, and the killing of a Sengwer man named Robert Kirotich in 2018 during a KFS operation. These incidents prompted the EU to suspend program payments in 2019 pending investigation and the development of a free, prior, and informed consent process.
Significance and Legacy
The Sengwer case illustrates a wider pattern in which conservation programs funded by international donors result in violations of indigenous peoples' rights when government agencies implement eviction policies without adequate oversight. The EU's eventual acknowledgment that its funding had contributed to human rights violations and its decision to suspend funding were significant steps, though critics argued the response was insufficient.
The Sengwer situation has contributed to the development of more robust safeguard frameworks in EU external funding and to broader discussions about how conservation programs should handle indigenous land rights. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has had Sengwer complaints before it, and the community continues to pursue legal remedies.
The Sengwer case also highlights the distinction between indigenous forest peoples with deep historical connections to specific forest ecosystems and the general category of forest encroachers, a distinction that conservation policy has frequently failed to make.
See Also
Ogiek Community History Forest Rights Land Embobut Forest Cherangany Hills West Pokot County Eviction Forest Lands African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights
Sources
- Forest Peoples Programme. (2019). Sengwer Indigenous Peoples' Programme Update. https://www.forestpeoples.org/
- Minority Rights Group International. (2018). Kenya: Sengwer Evictions. https://minorityrights.org/
- Ochieng, Emmanuel. (2019). "Kenya, EU, and the Sengwer: A Story of Conservation Betrayal." The Elephant. https://www.theelephant.info/
- African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Sengwer Community Complaint. ACmHPR Communication.