The establishment and gazzetiment of land for Protected Areas such as National Parks, Game Reserves, Wildlife Management Areas and Game Control Areas go simultaneously with encroachment of indigenous pastoralists land and expansion of boundaries of protected areas without taking due respect to the right of indigenous peoples; have become the main source of land conflicts associated with violation of human rights and loss of livelihood to indigenous peoples in Tanzania.
These results to loss of livelihood, disintegration of family, increased poverty, destruction of properties, injury, loss of land, loss of life and complete impoverishment of members of the indigenous community. Lenina Satulo represent a typical example of the victims of such gazettement of these areas. He has encountered serious violations of his rights after the establishment of Mkungunero Game Reserve in Kondoa District in Dodoma Region under Government Notice No. 307, October, 18 with the total Square Kilometers of 627.95 – even though the game reserve is not established within his district leave alone his village. Lenina Satulo and his fore fathers have been living in Irkiushi oibor, a pastoralist village situated in Makame ward with a population approximately not exceeding 1,645 peoples in Kiteto District in Manyara region since time immemorial.
Since 2003, this village was encroached by Mkungonero Game Reserve over the expansion of the boundaries into their village. It started with placement of boundary beacons by Mkongonero Game Reserve without consultation of village authorities or even Manyara Region. The people from Irkiushi oibor ever since raised their concern over the reserve encroaching their village land which is not in Dodoma.
The Game reserve inserts restrictions that deny livestock grazing and all other human activities in both Irkiushi Oibor Village in Kiteto and Kimotorok Village in Simanjiro. These restrictions are associated with actions where pastoralists are arrested, persecuted and illegally detained and their livestock captured for grazing into areas belonging to them. Many indigenous peoples have been arrested, beaten, humiliated and harassed by game scout of Mkungunero game reserve.
The incident of Lenina Satulo is just one example of many other incidents. And this has been the business of conservations across the country. Several operations had inflicted gross violation of human rights to pastoralist; Some of them became successful in courts but the executive refusing to implement court orders.
Like many indigenous peoples bordering Mkungunero Game Reserve and other protected area in Tanzania have become a victim of dispossession, impoverishment, eviction, deprivation of rights through the law enforcement and the judicial system.
He is and many others are crying for help and unless their voice is heard he will forever remain poor and if nothing is done the pastoralist will perish not because their live is not sustainable but because they have no safeguard to enforce their rights as human who deserve to be protected.