Villagers claim relocation illegal, inhuman
The authorities maintain that the villagers have already been compensated and as such, their refusal to leave is against the law.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian held yesterday in Dar es Salaam, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mahmoud Mgimwa described the villagers as ‘invaders encroaching the protected area.’
“With exception of only a few, the villagers have already been paid their compensation,” he insisted specifying the number of villagers in question as 27 families.
“We want them to leave so that the park can be expanded,” the Minister explained.
Bagamoyo District Commissioner, Ahmed Kipozi said it is imperative that the park expands its area and hence its activities and as such, the villagers must vacate.
“The villagers have to move to allow the park room to implement other activities,” he reiterated.
“I have already written to them urging them to relocate voluntarily before they are forcefully evicted,” Kipozi warned.
Tanapa Spokesperson, Paschal Shelutete seconded the other government officials saying the authority carried out evaluation and paid the families noting that most of them accepted the compensation.
“We cannot let them continue staying within the park because they are violating country laws,” he said citing the wildlife conservation Act of 2009.
In their defense, the villagers are calling for immediate intervention saying the government has no right to vacate them from land they have lived on for many generations long before colonisation.
The villagers explain that for the entire duration of their stay there, they have lived in harmony with the environment, preserving and protecting it in a symbiotic relation.
“We are not ready to vacate the village because we have been born here and our relatives are buried on this land,” said Mwanahawa Sururu, one of the villagers.
She narrated of awful suffering from what she alleged to be ‘brutal acts perpetrated by the park wardens’ accusing them of increasingly violating their human and land rights.
“The relocation process is illegal, rough and inhuman,” she complained.
The elderly woman said peace in the village is frequently disrupted alleging game rangers repeatedly invade their homes and destroy properties.
“They are using force to intimidate us to live our land,” she decried.
“We have lived here for many generations…we run our daily activities without interfering with the park…we care for it and live in harmony with all the wildlife here,” she said.
“Despite the compensation, we will not leave our parents who are buried here,” said the elderly woman who has lived there since 1966.
Notably, the area in question was only established by the government in the 1960s and back then it was game reserve.
Only as recent as 2005, was Saadani Game Reserve (SGR) given the status of a National Park by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
Chairman of Uvinje village, Hussen Akida says responsible authorities are ignoring their plight, to forever lose their ancestral land.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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