Alleged Violation of Article 14 174. The Complainants argue that the Endorois community have a right to property with regard to their ancestral land, the possessions attached to it, and their cattle. The Respondent State denies the allegation. 175. The Respondent State further argues that the land in question fell under the definition of Trust Land and was administered by the Baringo County Council for the benefit of all the people who were ordinarily resident in their jurisdiction which comprised mainly the four Tugen tribes. It argues that Trust Land is not only established under the Constitution of Kenya and administered under an act of Parliament, but that the Constitution of Kenya provides that Trust Land may be alienated through registration to another person other than the County Council; an Act of Parliament providing for the County Council to set apart an area of Trust Land vested in it for use and occupation of public body or authority for public purposes; person or persons or purposes which, in the opinion of the Council, is likely to benefit the persons ordinarily resident in that area; by the President in consultation with the Council. It argues that Trust Land may be set apart as government land for government purposes or private land. 176. The Respondent State argues that when Trust Land is set apart for whatever purpose, the interest or other benefits in respect of that land that was previously vested in any tribe, group, family or individual under African customary law are extinguished. It, however, states that the Constitution and the Trust Land Act provide for adequate and prompt compensation for all residents. The Respondent State, in both its oral and written submissions, is arguing that the Trust Land Act provides a comprehensive procedure for assessment of compensation where the Endorois should have applied to the District Commissioner and lodged an appeal if they were dissatisfied. The Respondent State further argues that the Endorois have a right of access to the High Court of Kenya by the Constitution to determine whether their rights have been violated. 177. According to the Respondent State, with the creation of more local authorities, the land in question now comprises parts of Baringo and Koibatek County Councils, and through Gazette Notice No 239 of 1973, the land was first set apart as Lake Hannington Game Reserve, which was later revoked by Gazette Notice No 270 of 1974, where the Game Reserve was renamed Lake Baringo Game Reserve, and the boundaries and purpose of setting apart this area specified in the Gazette Notices as required by the Trust Land Act. It argues that the Government offered adequate and prompt compensation to the affected people, “a fact which the Applicants agree with.” 81 178. In its oral and written testimonies, the Respondent State argues that the gazettement of a game reserve under the wildlife laws of Kenya is with the objective of ensuring that wildlife is managed and conserved to yield to the nation in general and to individual areas in particular optimum returns in terms of cultural, aesthetic and scientific gains as well as economic gains as are incidental to proper wildlife management and conservation. The Respondent State also argues that national reserves unlike national parks, where the act expressly excludes human interference save for instances where one has got authorisation, are subject to agreements as to restrictions or conditions relating to the provisions of the area covered by the reserve. It also states that communities living around the national reserves have in some instances been allowed to drive their cattle to the reserve for the purposes of grazing, so long as they do not cause harm to the environment and the natural habitats of the wild animals. It states that with the establishment of a national reserve particularly from Trust Land, it is apparent that the community’s right of access is not extinguished, but rather its propriety right as recognised under the law (that is, the right to deal with property as it pleases) is the one which is minimised and hence the requirement to compensate the affected people. 179. Rebutting the claim of the Complainants that the Kenyan authorities prevented them from occupying their other ancestral land, Muchongoi Forest, the Respondent State argued that the land in question was gazetted as a forest in 1941, by the name of Ol Arabel Forest, which means that the land ceased being communal land by virtue of the gazettement. It states that some excisions have been made from the Ol Arablel Forest to create the Muchongoi Settlement Scheme to settle members of the four Tungen tribes of the Baringo district, one of which is the Endorois.