Community Forums update - January 2009

Peace-building cross border meeting in Pusumoru

The January meeting of Community Forums in Pusumoru brought together Maasai communities from Kenya and Tanzania for a two-day process of peace building. Members discussed land use for grazing, livestock theft, and other community issues including conflict resolution between Maasai and Kuria communities.

In a follow-up to the September 2008 cross-border forum of Tanzanian and Kenyan Maasai communities which took place in Ngorkiding'a (Narok South District, Kenya) the Community Forums team facilitated a two-day meeting in Pusumoru (Ngorongoro District) of traditional leaders to finalize pending issues. The forum is dedicated to ending conflict among two pastoralist communities regarding land use for grazing, livestock theft and community concerns that may arise. At the 15th-16th January forum, members agreed on grazing restrictions along the border and stipulated detailed sanctions for livestock theft. The issue of retribution for recent assassinations was postponed until the next meeting in May 2009 to allow for further investigation. Finally, the forum took measures to strengthen the peace building between the Maasai in Ngorongoro District and the Kuria in Serengeti District. The full details of the meeting in Pusumoru are available online here. The meeting in Pusumoru is part of Community Forums' ongoing meetings to facilitate reconciliation together with its lead partner, Ujamaa Community Resource Trust (CRT), winner of the 2008 Equator Prize for its work mobilizing the grassroots for community based natural resource management.