Types of Socio-Cultural Practices that Affect Inter-Ethnic Conflict in Narok County, Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, inter-ethnic conflicts have caused irreversible damages to people and their assets, and to the nation’s cohesive fabric. There have been several roots for interethnic conflicts, and one of them has been socio-cultural practices. Such practices are different in each generation and between various different ethnic groups. Despite this occurrence, limited studies have researched on the types of socio-cultural practices and inter-ethnic conflicts. Hence, this study investigated several types of socio-cultural practices, and the way they sway inter-ethnical conflicts in Narok county. The research employed a cross-sectional survey approach conducted in Narok, focusing on adult residents categorized into security agencies, village elders, nyumba kumi elders, and the general public as the target demographic. The County was divided into constituencies and wards for sampling purposes using purposive sampling. Purposive sampling was used to select the security agencies, as well as village elders and nyumba kumi elders. The general public were picked by systematic random sampling. The tools utilized to get data were, questionnaires and interview schedule. Quantitative data underwent analysis using descriptive statistics. Specifically, frequency distributions were predominantly employed to synopsize the outcomes, aiding in the interpretation and presentation of the findings. Qualitative data, on the other hand, underwent thematic analysis. Both qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated to offer comprehensive depictions of the main discoveries. The study found that, there are four types of socio-cultural practices: Promoting ethnic identities, upholding cultural belief systems, promotion of indigenous knowledge and passing downwards historical grievances. And together they affect inter-ethnic conflicts in Narok county. The study concluded that, the government should as a matter of fact and necessity have refined national values and incorporate them into our national security development strategy in order to have stability which is a pre-requisite for our national development. From the forgoing, cultural values if harnessed can be a vital tool for development strategy. The study recommended that, there should be efforts to counter the types of socio-cultural practices like promoting ethnic identities that heighten inter-ethnic conflicts, and strengthen the ones that can decrease in inter-ethnic conflicts like promoting socio-cultural exchange programs so as to attain the noble environment for the community and citizens.