This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
On August 14, 2019, a significant milestone was achieved in the ongoing census preparations in Kenya. A consent was entered between the Kalenjin sub-tribe, the Lembus, and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics to have them enumerated in the upcoming census exercise.
The consent, signed before High Court Judge John Mativo by all parties in the case, also recognized the Lembus community as a sub-tribe of the Kalenjin.
The Kalenjin sub-tribe had taken the matter to court, seeking to be recognized independently from the Tugen and Maasai communities during the census. They argued that their culture and ancestry were distinct.
However, the Lembus community, which is habitually linked to the Tugens, claimed that the classification was erroneous and done without their consent, thereby denying them crucial rights.
Through their lawyer, Duncan Okubasu, the Lembus community accused the State of exposing them to mistreatment, adding that the marginalisation of their members had been occasioned by failure to recognize them as a distinct ethnic group.
They further argued that they are over 300,000 people living in the Rift Valley and that failure to recognize them as an official tribe in Kenya violates Article 45 of the Constitution, which mandates the State to recognize and protect the family as a fundamental rights unit of society and the necessary basis of the social order.
The Lembus community lives in Baringo County and had sued Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i alongside Attorney General Kihara Kairuki in court documents.
