African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Kenya (Ogiek case), African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 2025

In the Ogiek case, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights held that Kenya had violated multiple provisions of the African Charter by forcibly evicting the Ogiek, an indigenous forest-dwelling community, from their ancestral lands in the Mau Forest Complex without consultation, justification, or adequate compensation. The Court found that the evictions and continued denial of land rights breached the Ogiek’s rights to property, non-discrimination, religion, culture, natural resources, and development, and that conservation objectives could not lawfully be pursued through blanket displacement of an indigenous population. The Court rejected Kenya’s argument that the Mau Forest was public land immune from indigenous claims and affirmed that collective land tenure and cultural survival are protected under the Charter. The judgment marked the Court’s first merits decision on indigenous rights, establishing that states must recognize indigenous land tenure, ensure meaningful consultation, and balance environmental protection with human rights obligations.