Thomson Safaris lawsuit (re Maasai in Tanzania, filed in USA)
Fuentes
In 2010, semi nomadic Maasi pastoralists filed a claim in Tanzania against Tanzania Breweries and Tanzania Conservation, alleging the companies had forcefully evicted the plaintiffs from their ancestral land and acquired it without the plaintiff's prior consent. The case is ongoing.
To support evidentiary burden for this legal action in Tanzania, on 26 February 2014, the Soitsambu, Sukenya and Mondorosi villages filed an action in a US federal court against Thomson Safaris, an affiliate of TC, and its owners. The plaintiffs seek to compel the defendants to provide information on the circumstances of the land transfer, which they believe will prove the land was confiscated illegally. The plaintiffs brought the action under a law that allows people to obtain documents and information from individuals or companies in the United States for use in foreign legal proceedings. In April 2014, the court ordered Thomson Safaris and its owners to turn over documents and give sworn testimony about the sale of Sukenya Farm, the alleged home burnings and beatings, and the conversion of the land from Maasai grazing territory to a deluxe private reserve. Under the court order, Thomson Safaris and its owners must turn over all documents by 9 May and give sworn testimony before the end of June 2014.