Tanzania frees Maasai after police murder charges dropped

A Tanzanian court on Tuesday ordered the release of two dozen Maasai protesters after the prosecution dropped murder charges over the death of a policeman at a demonstration against a planned conservation area, their lawyer said.

The pastoralists in Loliondo in the northern district of Ngorongoro have accused the government of trying to force them off their ancestral land in order to organise safaris and hunting expeditions.

But the government has rejected the accusations, claiming it wants to "protect" 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles) of the area from human activity to help wildlife thrive.

As tensions have soared, protests have sometimes turned violent, with clashes erupting in June in Loliondo between police and Maasai demonstrators.

Twenty-five Maasai protesters were charged with murder after a policeman died in the clashes. One was released earlier but the others have remained in jail since June.

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On Tuesday, prosecutors at the court in Arusha dropped the charges entirely, said Yonas Masiaya, a lawyer representing the community.

"They have been set free," he told AFP in a message, adding that "the prosecution said (they) have no intention to continue with the case."

"There was no tangible evidence to warrant their prosecution," he said.

Another defence lawyer Jebra Kambole told AFP, "we are glad that they are finally free."

"These people were detained even before investigations and stayed in custody this long for no clear reasons," he said.

The nomadic community in September filed a court case against Tanzania's government, challenging its decision to cordon off the land for wildlife protection.

Tanzania has historically allowed indigenous communities such as the Maasai to live within some national parks, including the Ngorongoro conservation area, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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But the authorities say their growing population is encroaching on wildlife habitat and began moving the pastoralists out of Ngorongoro in June, calling it a voluntary relocation.

The move has sparked concern, with a team of UN-appointed independent rights experts warning in June that "it could jeopardise the Maasai's physical and cultural survival."

Since 1959, the number of humans living in Ngorongoro has shot up from 8,000 to more than 100,000.

As climate change leads to prolonged droughts and low crop yields, pressure on the pastoralists has increased, forcing them into conflict with wildlife over access to food and water.

In 2009, thousands of Maasai families were moved out of Loliondo to allow an Emirati safari company, Otterlo Business Corporation, to organise hunting expeditions there.

The government cancelled that deal in 2017, following allegations of corruption.

Source: AFP