An indescribable wash of excitement gripped the country when Tullow Oil Company announced that they had made a find on oil deposits in Turkana. The people in particular had something to be proud of. The place once thought to be hopeless now had the attention of the entire country. Then the excitement ended and in came worry, anxiety and uncertainty.
A number of writers have alluded to the fact that with the corruption rot that has almost become characteristic of Kenya, the oil find may be more of a curse than a gift of good tidings. While you cannot blame them seeing the never ending impunity saga, we must appreciate that the new constitution envisioned the discovery of oil and other minerals and put in sufficient measures to protect the interests of the various interested parties.
Do the people of Turkana then have any rights to the land in which the oil deposits were found in the constitution and can those rights be protected?
First, the land in Turkana is Public Land by virtue of Article 62(1)(f) which states that public land is all minerals and mineral oils as defined by law.
Article 60(1)(c) provides that Land in Kenya shall be held in a manner that is in accordance with the principle of sustainable and productive management of resources.
The constitution the provides under Article 62(3) that public land such as that in Turkana shall vest in and be held by the national government in trust for the people of Kenya and shall be administered
on their behalf by the National Land Commission. This means that the people can hold the government accountable for acts of use and disposal (sell) of the land.
The law then provides that public land will not be used and/or disposed of except where there is an Act of Parliament (sub-law) that specifies the nature of that use/disposal.
The state may also under Article 66(1) regulate the use of any land in the interest of public order. This ensures that even though exploitation maybe left to outside parties, their work will be closely
monitored by the authorities.
The law provides for ratification of a right or grant of concession by a person or the Government for the exploitation of any natural resource in Kenya. This Article 71 provision means that before anyone
is allowed to exploit the Turkana Oil, they will undergo a proper vetting process to verify their suitability for the job.
Finally, the state shall, under Article 69(1) ensure sustainable exploitation, utilization, management and conservation of natural resources and, perhaps key on the mind of Turkana people, ensure the equitable sharing of accruing benefits.
So, yes the Turkana people have certain rights over the land with the oil deposits and those rights are sufficiently protected in the Constitution. The ball rests with the people mandated with its implementation.
