TEC: Not listening to the Maasai people of Ngorongoro Tanzania is denying them their rights
The Council of Bishops of the Catholic Church in Tanzania (TEC) has said that not listening to the Maasai who bathe in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is denying them their rights.
The Council of Bishops of the Catholic Church in Tanzania (TEC) has said that not listening to the Maasai who bathe in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is denying them their rights The statement comes when hundreds of young people and mothers of the area protested the other day, pressuring the Government to provide them with various social services.
Speaking yesterday, TEC Secretary Father Charles Kitima said, "Today when we speak to our Maasai brothers in Ngorongoro they are sending a bad message with a negative image internationally... "...when you explain to them that it is their choice to stay in Ngorongoro and then deny them their basic rights that is a serious violation of the rights of human.
On Sunday, a peaceful protest by the Maasai community lasted for several hours while tourism activities had to stop.
Human rights defenders in Tanzania have also urged the Tanzanian authorities to respect the rights of the community by listening and providing them with their basic needs.
Since 2022, the authorities in Tanzania have been carrying out an exercise to transfer people from that area of the reserve to the area of Msomera in Tanga region.
However, since the beginning of the exercise, approximately 7,000 people have moved voluntarily, while some expressed their unwillingness to move.
In 2010, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO as a world heritage site.
