• Woman lawyer wants to educate her community to end backward cultural practices such as FGM and early marriage and change their dim view of women's abilities.
• Wants to fight for her community's land and cultural rights.
Image: COURTESY
Caroline Tegeret, the first female lawyer in the marginalised Ogiek community, wants to become the Chief Justice of Kenya.
Tegeret, 25, is the second-born in a family of eight and defeated the odds to climb the academic ladder and be admitted to the Bar last Thursday. She studied at the Kenya School of Law.
She told the Star in an interview on Monday she was inspired by the marginalisation of her Ogiek community, especially the women, and wants to help them advance. Eradicating FGM is one of her goals.
"Besides financial constraints, I was disadvantaged by negative cultural practices and views that a woman is a lesser being unable to pursue a course like mine,” she said.
The latest census report indicates the 52,000 Ogiek forest dwellers live east and west of the Mau Forest water tower in Nakuru county.
Before massive deforestation and invasion by other communities, the Ogieks depended on bee farming, hunting and gathering.
After excelling in her KCSE exam at Kapropita Girls, Tegeret was admitted to Moi University where she earned a Bachelor of Laws degree.
Deep-rooted illiteracy, school dropouts, early marriages and FGM have been major setbacks to women in my community.Caroline Tegeret
The cost of school fees, she said, was her greatest challenge since she came from a “humble, happy family” in Nessuit, Nakuru.
She is grateful to her father James Tegeret, a primary school teacher, for his steadfast support.
“Deep-rooted illiteracy, school dropouts, early marriages and FGM have been major setbacks to women in my community," Tegeret said.
Her admission as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya is evidence that members of the Ogiek community can achieve anything other communities have achieved, she said.
Now she plans to work with government and partners to empower indigenous and marginalised communities.
Tegeret cites the failed quest by Ogiek community elders to fight for land rights and justice over decades. She said their struggle inspired her to help find solutions.
“The famous Ogiek struggle for land rights that has seen them in court many times, both locally and internationally, is part of what made me want to pursue law” she said.
Tegeret, the firstborn daughter, calls her father her role model.
“My father has seen many girls drop out of school for early marriages. He always encouraged me to change that story of Ogiek girls by raising the bar of excellence for my siblings and the entire community,” she said.
Tegeret said she admires her father’s resilience and determination. “Having come from a humble background and marginalised community, he still managed to pursue a successful teaching career.
“He has inspired many in the Ogiek community.”
She also wants to play a key role in sensitising her community to end FGM, early marriages and change their dim view of women.
“My next move is to work with NGOs and government entities to empower indigenous and marginalised communities. I have always had a passion for working with communities,” Tegeret said.
The legal profession is tough, especially for a woman from a marginalised community but she has set her sights on becoming president of the Supreme Court and head of the Judiciary.
Tegeret graduated from Moi University in 2017, proceeded to the Kenya School of Law in 2018 and pursued her internship with Kiplenge and Kurgat Advocates in Nakuru.
Stephen Lelei of the Ogiek Community Development Programme called Tegeret’s achievements a boost to the community that has been struggling for recognition locally and internationally.
"We are very happy to have our own first lawyer who will help us put an end to the setbacks that have been jeopardising our efforts," he said.
Lelei is also a coordinator of a registered Ogiek community radio station that focusses on environmental conservation.
Sogoot FM is to be launched this year. It is based at Marioshoni Shopping Centre in Nakuru.
In 2006, Ogiek community members filed a case in the International Court of African Justice in Arusha, Tanzania. They complained the Kenya Forest Service issued them with notices to vacate the forest without considering how this would affect their lives.
On May 26, 2017, the Arusha-based African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, directed the Kenyan government to resettle thousands of members of the community in their indigenous homes.
The verdict is yet to be implemented, although Kenya is a signatory to the court’s protocol, hence, its rulings are binding.
The court recognised the Ogieks’ indigenous status and their right to reparations from the Kenyan government for the suffering they have endured through forced evictions.
It acknowledged their strong attachment to the forest and their freedom to practise their traditions and deemed evictions to be disproportionate to conservation aims.
(Edited by V. Graham)