 Photo 1: The EvalIndigenous Representatives and the Ogiek Council of Elders addressing the Press in Mariashoni On 23 May 2025, the EvalIndigenous Global Network, hosted an advocacy workshop with the Ogiek Council of Elders, community elders and representatives in the wake of the new Government of Kenya intention to redraw the Mau Forest cutline. A court ruling on September 30, 2024, upheld the legality of the 2001 cutline. And now the government has started implementing the long-awaited process of redrawing and beaconing the boundaries to separate forests and settlements of the six schemes created following the 2001 decision. The right to Indigenous territoryA major issue raised is the lack of consultation with the Ogiek community in ongoing government plans, particularly the fencing of the Mau Forest. The fear of the Ogiek community is that this is a political process supervised by political leaders from other communities, while they don’t have a voice. This has raised concerns that they are likely to be evicted once again, given that there is no one to talk on their behalf. It is in this context that the EvalIndigenous Global Network has come in to stand in solidarity with not only the Ogiek community, but as a voice for all the other Indigenous Communities in Kenya facing similar challenges. Read the Advocacy Letter addressed to The Principal Secretary, Ministry of Interior and National Administration, Government of Kenya. Emilly Kirui, one of the Ogiek Elders, highlighted the broader context which reflects ongoing challenges faced by indigenous communities in Kenya, including slow implementation of court rulings affirming their land rights and continued evictions under the guise of conservation efforts. Despite legal victories, such as the African Court’s recognition of Ogiek rights over the Mau Forest, government inaction and bureaucratic hurdles have left many families in uncertainty. The Ogiek and other Indigenous groups continue to call for the enforcement of legal protections, full implementation of court decisions, and the establishment of co-management frameworks for resource sharing and land governance. A key demand from the Ogiek is the urgent implementation of court rulings affirming their rights to ancestral lands, particularly following a 2022 African Court decision in their favour. Despite this legal victory, the community reports that enforcement remains stalled, leaving them vulnerable to forced evictions and continued encroachment. They are also advocating for the issuance of land titles to secure their homes and heritage, and for the integration of traditional governance systems into formal structures. The right to free, prior and informed consent
One of the Ogiek Human Rights Defenders, Alexander Kisioi Koech, highlights findings from a recent 2024–2025 study by EvalIndigenous Global Network, which demonstrate the critical necessity for policy reforms that align with both Kenya’s constitutional commitments and its international obligations. The current frameworks are seen as insufficient in protecting the rights and interests of indigenous peoples, underscoring the importance of immediate government action to address these gaps.
This absence of representation has left them marginalised in critical national conversations and policy decisions. EvalIndigenous and Ogiek Council of Elders representatives also urged the government to provide Indigenous communities with direct representation at the county and national levels, including the nomination of senators from these groups. Past experiences have shown that having nominated leaders enables Indigenous communities to effectively channel their issues to government authorities and advocate for their rights. The speakers implored the government to fill vacant nominated positions with qualified Indigenous representatives to ensure their concerns are addressed at the highest levels.
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Reframing Global Health through Indigenous Eyes: Three Cornerstone Resources from the UNPFII5/22/2025
Together, the three studies form a dynamic, interconnected roadmap for advancing Indigenous health globally—not as a subset of minority or diversity policy, but as a self-determined, rights-based, and cosmologically distinct approach to collective wellbeing. For governments, NGOs, UN agencies, funders, and Indigenous leaders, this trilogy offers a new standard: one that prioritizes healing over harm, relational accountability over extractive metrics, and sovereignty over simplification. 1. A Foundational Framework: The 2023 Study on Indigenous Determinants of Health
This report also emphasizes that Indigenous Peoples are rights holders, not stakeholders, and that their representation must be central and enduring across the entire policy cycle.
Each item is grounded in specific determinants, with criteria for assessing policy implementation, cultural safety, data practices, Indigenous representation, and the protection of land and identity2025 IDHEvaluation Inst…. The tool offers not only a way to track institutional progress but also a process for community-led adaptation, piloting, and refinement. Implications for Indigenous EvaluationTogether, these three resources challenge the foundations of mainstream evaluation practice. They call for a paradigm shift away from deficit-based, Western-centric metrics toward an Indigenous-led evaluation movement that centres Indigenous values, worldviews, and priorities. These reports:
Shared Lessons for Evaluators and Evaluation CommissionersMr Njovu and Dr Ponge and his team, in different but complementary ways, offer a set of urgent and important lessons for those who commission or undertake evaluations of initiatives in Indigenous communities in Africa:
Global ImplicationsThough situated in Africa, these reports resonate globally. They offer pathways for evaluators to re-centre Indigenous ways of knowing, being and evaluating. More than that, they show how Africa can lead: not as a recipient of development knowledge, but as a generator of evaluation futures rooted in relationality, interdependence, and cultural continuity. As EvalIndigenous continues to nurture these blossoms, the work of Mr Njovu and Dr Ponge and his team reminds us of the fire we carry: that evaluation, when reclaimed by Indigenous communities, can be a force for renewal, healing, and sovereignty.
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