Global NGO pleads for African minority groups

By Chris Kiwawulo                        

In the midst of unprecedented urbanization across Africa, the continent's cities must address the concerns of minorities and indigenous peoples in order to flourish, the Minority Rights Group (MRG) International has said.

"While African cities are vital economic powerhouses right across the continent, this urbanization comes at a cost - especially for minorities and indigenous peoples," notes MRG's executive director, Mark Lattimer.

MRG’s State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2015 report released on July 2, focuses on cities, and explores the many challenges minority and indigenous communities face in urban areas across Africa, from segregation and lack of services, to targeted violence and exclusion.

In Uganda, the Batwa, Ba’amba, Bakonzo, Bakenyi, Kakwa, Bagungu, Madi and Nubiana are among the minority groups.

According to MRG, East Africa is one of the fastest urbanizing regions in the world, with a projected urban growth of 5.35% between 2010 and 2020. Between 1960 and 2010, the report revealed that the population living in cities increased from 6 million to more than 77 million people.

In Kenya, Nairobi is expected to grow by almost 80% between 2010 and 2025. Masai who are indigenous to the lands of the city have suffered displacement, as their traditional pastoralist livelihoods have become untenable in an urban setting.

“Nairobi is also marked by more than 200 informal settlements with very high population densities, extreme poverty and lack of services. The Nubians who have long been settled on the site of the Kibera slum continue to struggle to have their title recognized,” the report observes.

Urbanization is also driven by displacement, the report says, citing the indigenous Endorois who had inhabited Lake Bogoria for centuries when, in the 1970s, the Kenyan government forcibly removed them from their ancestral land.

“The Endorois who move to larger cities report that they face discrimination based on their minority status, and often are only able to find temporary menial employment. Young Endorois who seek out educational opportunities in urban areas risk losing contact with their ancestral heritage and values,” it says.

While Somalia has long been wracked by conflict, the UK-based organisation’s report states that Mogadishu has also undergone tremendous population growth over the last century. Urbanization has followed clan structures, with residence in neighbourhoods determined by clan affiliation.

“Minority women living in informal settlements often find themselves excluded from livelihood opportunities by majority groups, and tend to work in informal sectors such as domestic work, where they are frequently subjected to gender-based violence or denied payment, the report points out.

Exclusionary practices have also had an impact on urban areas in Nigeria, where groups of established residence in each region have preferential treatment over 'settler' or 'immigrant' groups - many of whom may have been based for two generations in the areas.

While Lagos now offers a relatively open system of registration to all residents, the over 40-year-old MRG says, the city center is in practice largely controlled by 'indigenous' Lagos-dwellers, while informal settlements are generally populated by migrants from other regions. “The cultural dislocation caused by rapid urban growth is a particular concern for minorities and indigenous peoples,” states the report.

In Namibia, land redistribution and the expulsion of the San from their traditional hunting and grazing lands have led many San to seek new livelihoods in nearby towns. With skills that may no longer be useful in an urban setting, many San have to rely on food donations both from the Namibian government and NGOs, as well as state pensions.

At the same time, the situation is not totally bleak. African cities provide educational and employment opportunities, as well as a chance for minority and majority communities to join forces in grassroots activism.

"African cities are ultimately about the people who live in them," says Lattimer before concluding that; "city governments must ensure that all residents have access to opportunities and vital services that urban areas provide. Otherwise, urbanization can generate tensions that can quickly spiral out of control."

The report cited the World Heritage Site city of Timbuktu in Mali that received a devastating blow in 2012 when it fell under the control of the extremist Ansar Dine movement. Aside from the severe human toll, considerable damage was done to the city's invaluable collections of ancient manuscripts and Sufi shrines.

The conflict also led to severe tensions between the city's communities, with Arab and Tuareg minorities being subjected to reprisals following the ouster of Ansar Dine. Now, the Timbuktu Renaissance Action Group seeks to rebuild social cohesion by reviving what the city came close to losing during its occupation - Timbuktu's rich and multifaceted culture.          

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