Tensions Rise to Evict Maasai Tribe in Loliondo, Tanzania
According to online sources, Maasai tribe was seen to take cover as some smoke rose in the background as gunfire was heard outside. Videos have also been shared online from the villages of Ololosokwan and Kirtalo.
Leah Mukangai According to Survival International and the Oakland Institute, there has been tension in Tanzania's Loliondo division since June 8, 2022, when dozens of police officers arrived to evict Maasai tribespeople in order to make way for a game reserve for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) royal family.
According to a statement issued by the Oakland Institute on June 9, dozens of police vehicles from the anti-riot Field Force Unit (FFU) arrived in Wasso town of the Loliondo division of the Ngorongoro district to demarcate a 1,500 square kilometer area of land as a game reserve.
According to the statement, the FFU and other forces have set up camp in Ololosokwan's Oloosek area and Malambo's Sanjan sub-village.
“The arrival of a heavy police force signals the government has moved forward with plans to change the status of the Loliondo Game Controlled Area into a Game Reserve, which would trigger mass evictions of Maasai living in legally registered villages within the area,” the statement read.
Tanzania's Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism announced earlier this month that several Game Controlled Areas would be converted to Game Reserves.
This would mean that permanent residents would be barred from Loliondo, Lake Natron, Lokisale, Longido, Mto wa mbu, and Kilombero, and livestock grazing would be prohibited.
The natural resources and tourism minister of Tanzania arrived in Arusha to "inspect the activities of the Loliondo Game Reserve," indicating that the decision to change the area's status had been made.
