Last Updated on February 13, 2026
Indigenous Yaaku (Yiaku) families in central Kenya’s Mukogodo Forest are confronting a wave of violence, theft and looming evictions, according to a statement released Tuesday by the East Africa Indigenous Women-Led Assembly (EAIWA).
Leaders of the Yaaku community said clashes with armed groups in Laikipia County have resulted in multiple deaths, the theft of thousands of head of livestock and escalating fear among residents of the forest reserve, which spans roughly 30,000 hectares.
The EAIWA condemned the government’s response to the unrest, saying broad eviction orders issued ahead of a security operation do not distinguish between criminal elements and Yaaku families. The organization says that approach risks long-term displacement and loss of Yaaku ancestral land.
“The Yaaku Indigenous Peoples have already survived centuries of marginalization. They should not be asked to survive another state-sanctioned displacement,” writes EAIWA.
On Jan. 27, community members reported the murder of at least two Yaaku residents and the theft of 1,500 livestock during a series of raids by armed attackers, according to the statement. In subsequent days, additional animals were seized and more community members were reported killed in retaliatory violence, the group said.
“There had already been significant indications that an attack on indigenous Yaaku communities might be expected,” adds EAIWA, “including an attack on the National Police Reserve camp at Wakumbe in which 1200 livestock were reportedly stolen by these groups.”
“Kenyan security forces did not provide security despite these threats. However, once the theft of Yaaku livestock and murder of Yaaku community members happened at the end of January, the Kenyan Government response has not been to enable the Yaaku to be secure, but has been to add to their suffering by threatening them with eviction.”
The Kenyan government’s Ministry of Interior has characterized the operation as an effort to flush out armed bandits. The EAIWA argues that such broad directives are tantamount to collective punishment that fails to protect vulnerable Indigenous peoples.
The conflict in Mukogodo highlights persistent tensions over land rights and security in Kenya. Indigenous communities have long reported marginalization in national policy, including in areas where they hold formal land titles under the 2016 Community Land Act. Critics say those legal protections are inconsistently upheld, leaving communities exposed to competing interests including pastoralist incursions and state-led initiatives.
In its letter to the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, the EAIWA called for clear differentiation between armed criminals and Indigenous communities to ensure “The Kenyan government protects at risk communities and is not colluding in any attempts to ethnically cleanse the Mukugodo Forest.”
The organization also called for an independent investigation into the violence, independent human rights monitoring of any security operation in the area. Additionally, it wants the government to fully adhere to Kenya’s constitution as well as obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Historically forest-dwelling hunter-gatherers, the Yaaku were gradually pushed toward pastoralism through colonial land seizures, post-independence conservation policies and sustained marginalization. Their original Yaakunte language is now critically endangered, with most community members speaking Maa or Kiswahili.
In recent decades, the Yaaku have worked to reclaim legal recognition of their community land and cultural identity, framing Mukogodo not only as a livelihood base but as a living archive of memory, spirituality and survival.
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