¥ The Agreement of 1911 made no provisions whatsoever for safeguards of Masailand, royalties and future status. It was merely a thumbprinted piece of paper to make the Masai sanction or consign themselves to the grave. No sooner had the Masai moved from Laikipia Ole Njogo a Masai Chief together with seven others filed a suit in 1912 against the Attorney General and 20 other conspirators in the 1911 Agreement, Among other things, the plaintiffs maintained ats "The Government having by 190) Agreement (executed under heavy pressure) became trustees for the Masai, they failed to execute their trust, but entered into another agreement in 1911 contrary to the former one and derogatory to their interests of their " trusts", and that the later agreement was obtained by duress, and is further not binding as it has not received the approval of the tribe". In this suit against the government the Masai asked for full compensation of their losses in cattle during the move to the south but were never given anything. At this time as a result of congestion in the Southern Reserve, many Masai attempted to return to Laikipia but were greeted with rifles and confiscation of stock, It is there- fore clear that the Agreement of 1911 was improperly obtained. This was how British justice and so called protection summed up the Mesai case:— The case was dismissed with costs by the Chief Justice. An appeal to the Court of Appeal to Eastern Africa was also dismissed, it being held:~ 1. The Eastern Africa Protectorate is in relation to the Crown a foreign country in which the Crown has jurisdiction which is exercisable in accordance with the foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1900, and Orders—in-Council thereunder. 2. n the in fact Treaties not cognizable most underst. or seek the lly became not robbery to suit amstances that nas by ssion of “all forests, jungle, waste or land or land not in actual occupation. The oralists and nomads, the British therefore possession of virtually all, if not shrough the application of these uncultivate Masai being had already* This is clearly shown by the fact &. by 1903, the British had already alienated to settlers, 614,213 acres of which 427,350 acres were Masai land. The 1904 and 1911 Agreements therefore were designed to bluff the Masai anc the Agreements served no purpose other than rubber stamping "the unoccupied lands regulations 1899". The Sultan of Z: Strip treaty of 1895 the Masai with an equ received nothing from ar, 28 a result of a ten mile Coastal been receiving £16,000 annually; ily or even a more important treaty have the British Government ever since. Is it not a matter o: rness that the Masai be paid due compensation for ir lands which constitute an area of 10,000 square miles of the best land in Kenya? > British Government coulda produce ies signed 300-400 years ago and even the Sultan treaty of 1895, I am not surprised to see they could not produce the originals of the Masai treaties because they were only scrap papers. This establishes the facts under which African lands were falsely, forcibly and treacherously acquired. in in view of this therefore and the injustices the Masai have suffered since the advent of British rule, the British and Kenya Governments must admit that the treaties were improperly obtained, and thus restore to the Nasai their original lands immediately. In addition to s the British Government should pay royalties and compensation to the Masai amounting to 25,800,000 and a further £100,000 annually, the Brit settlers are in occupation of Masai land. I would like to urge that both the Kenya and British Governments should introduce to Masai land an accelerated development plan to enable the Masai to be of economic use to Kenya. Finally, I should sound a warning, however, that failure for the Masai to receive a fair hearing and settlement, the Masai will bring their case before the United Nations or the International Court.oA * DEVELOPMENT OF MASAT LANDS The erying need as expressed by the Masai today is for security of their land and provision of educational and economic opportunities to enable them to catch up with the other tribes in Kenya, That there is fear of losing at least the good areas of their land is understandable in view of the land policies of the British Government which resulted in the Masai Treaties of 190; and 1911. Nevertheless, it is both desirable and ir ive that the Masai tribe face the realities of present day politics and themselves bring about a change fr 4 tribal ways of life to a new concept which considers cattle, the main wealth of the tribe, as being @ personal possession and what is more important, en asset which is of economic value to Kenya, Just how this change can be brought about is the difficult question but there is today a strong feeling among our people that the time has come for a change, As a result of recent famines the Masai have reached a turning point of their history, 01d traditional ways of life, some good and some bad, must give way to new concepts of land utilisation, it is a fallacy to assume that all the 15,000 square miles of Masai land is fit for pasture or cultivation, Almost two-thirds of the area are allocated to game and being tsetse-flay infested, this rules out the possibility of stock farming, The scarcity of water is another problem as the disastrous result of the recent drought has so clearly shown, The Hasai need more dams, boreholes, and piped water. LAND TENURE The primary need is a departure from the idea of collective ownership to one of individual tenure, The Masai should accept the introduction of land tenure, This would mean @ survey of all the good land in Masai and dividing this land among the tribe, The rest of Masai land could still remain within their land unit and be available for further settlement as and when land is no longer required for ame, Money will have to be found for fencing and water the possibility of bore wells to be explored), Once the tribe can accept being confined to holdings, it will be possible to introduce better stock and modern methods of farming under a co-operative systen, THE WAGADT SODA co The Agreement between the Magadi Soda Co. and the government should come to m end, All royalties from the Company should be paid to local Masai Council, ‘This should apply to all minerals found in Masai land, THE This forest which is situated in the Masai land uit has not yet been exploited from a commercial point of view, it holds the largest reserve of timber in Kenya, It would be possible to bring in outside financial interests to exploit the forest in association with the Masai so that at least half, if not more, of the profits could be used for development of schools, water, fencing etc., in Masai through the Masai Development Authority. 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