Sengwer community protest eviction from ancestral land

The Sengwer community has petitioned the state against eviction from their ancestral land which lies inside Embobut Forest in Elgeyo Marakwet County.

They want the government to recognise them as the original inhabitants of the forest that is classified as a key water tower.

In the petition, the community said they have been sidelined by successive governments.

"We need to be recognised and given rights just like other communities," Yator Kiptum sais.

The community said rangers from the Kenya Forest Service who killed Robert Kiprotich last year must be brought to book.

They want an inquest that was previously opened by Eldoret court to be fast-tracked.

Over 150 members of the community traveled for 450 kilometers to Nairobi on Monday and presented a petition to the office of President which has been signed by 270,000 people.

The presentation of the petition took place as the world commemorates UN global day for housing and shelter, World Habitat Day.

The community had earlier vowed to return to the forest where they had been evicted from in 2017.