African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights v Republic of Kenya (Application No. 006-2012)

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights granted provisional measures ordering Kenya to reinstate restrictions on land transactions in the Mau Forest Complex pending determination of the main application. The Court found prima facie jurisdiction and determined that a situation of extreme gravity and urgency existed, with risk of irreparable harm to the Ogiek Community's rights to cultural protection, property, and economic development under the African Charter.

Outcome

Provisional measures granted ordering Kenya to reinstate land transaction restrictions in Mau Forest pending final determination of the application

Facts

In November 2009, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights received a complaint on behalf of the Ogiek Community, an indigenous minority of approximately 20,000 members inhabiting the Mau Forest in Kenya. In October 2009, the Kenya Forestry Service issued 30-day eviction notices to the Ogiek and other settlers, requiring them to vacate the forest on grounds that it constituted a reserved water catchment zone and government land. The Ogiek depend on the forest for their traditional livelihoods and sacral identity. In November 2012, Kenya lifted restrictions on land transactions for parcels of five acres or less within the Mau Forest Complex, prompting the Commission to seek provisional measures to prevent further irreparable damage to the Ogiek Community pending resolution of the main application.

Issues

1. Whether the Court has prima facie jurisdiction to grant provisional measures in the matter
2. Whether there exists a situation of extreme gravity and urgency warranting provisional measures
3. Whether there is a risk of irreparable harm to the Ogiek Community from the lifting of restrictions on land transactions in the Mau Forest Complex

Orders

• The Respondent immediately reinstates the restrictions it had imposed on land transactions in the Mau Forest Complex and refrains from any act or thing that would or might irreparably prejudice the main application before the Court, until the final determination of the said application.
• The Respondent reports to the Court within a period of fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt hereof, on the measures taken to implement this Order.

Rules and key headnotes

Legislation cited (13)

• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 1
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 2
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 4
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 14
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 17(2)
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 17(3)
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 21
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 22
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 58(1)
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 3
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 5(1)(a)
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 27(2)

The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.