The Ogiek community displaced from the South West Mau Forest in 2009 has asked the National Lands Commission (NLC) to begin verification of a list of affected persons.

Through the Ogiek Independent Council of South West Mau Forest, Konoin, the community handed the commission a comprehensive register of individuals displaced during the 2009 evictions.

The council said the submission follows the July 27, 2018 judgment by Justice J.M. Onyango of the Environment and Land Court (ELC Petition No. 5 of 2017).

That ruling found the forced evictions violated the community’s constitutional rights to property, equality, freedom from discrimination and human dignity.

To remedy the injustice, the court ordered the NLC, together with local chiefs and the Ogiek Council of Elders, to compile an official register of genuine victims and identify alternative land for their resettlement.

The council described the submission as a historic milestone toward justice, constitutional compliance and sustainable environmental conservation for the indigenous Ogiek of Konoin, Bomet County.

It also urged the NLC to engage the Ogiek Independent Council in a co‑management framework for the South West Mau Forest ecosystem.

The council emphasized that the Ogiek are traditional guardians of the forest, contributing to water‑table protection, anti‑logging efforts and resistance to commercial encroachment.

It further noted that exclusion from climate‑resilience initiatives undermines the community’s role in preserving Kenya’s critical water towers.

The council wants verification of the register to start promptly and to pave the way for the resettlement program mandated by the Environment and Land Court.