142. The Court accordingly finds that, if other groups which are in the
same category of communities, which lead a traditional way of life and
with
cultural
distinctiveness
highly
dependent
on
the
natural
environment as the Ogieks , were granted recognition of their status and
the resultant rights, the refusal of the Respondent to recognise and grant
the same rights to the Ogieks, due to their way of life as a huntergatherer community amounts to ' distinction ' based on ethnicity and/or
'other status' in terms of Article 2 of the Charter.
143. With regard to the Respondent's submission that, following
the adoption of a new Constitution in 2010, all Kenyans enjoy
equal opportunities in terms of education , health , employment ,
and access to justice and there is no discrimination among
different tribes in Kenya including the Ogieks, the Court notes
that indeed the
2010 Constitution
of Kenya
recognises and
accords special protection to indigenous populations as part of
" marginalised community " and the Ogieks could theoretically fit
into that category and
benefit from
constitutional safeguards.
the
responsibility
of
the
protection
of such
All the same, this does not diminish
the
Respondent
with
respect
to
the
violations of the rights of the Ogieks not to be discriminated
against between the time the Respondent became a Party to the
Charter
and
when
the
Respondent 's
new
Constitution
was
enacted.
144.
be
In addition, as stated above, the prohibition of discrimination may not
fully
guaranteed
with
the
enactment
of
laws
which
condemn
discrimination; the right can be effective only when it is actually respected
and , in this vein, the persisting eviction of the Ogieks, the failure of the
authorities of the Respondent to stop such evictions and to comply with
the decisions of the national courts demonstrate that the new Constitution
and the institutions which the Respondent has set up to remedy past or
on-going injustices are not fully effective.
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