Conflict In Kenya Research Articles

Conflict period sexual violence against women: Promise of the vulnerability theory

Compared to most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya has, for a long time, enjoyed relative peace. However, this perceived peace has been marked with several incidents of internal clashes exposing women to large-scale gender-based sexual violence. While sexual violence is generally common in peacetime, it is exacerbated in conflict situations such as the post-election violence of 2007–2008 which saw mass incidents of rape and unprecedented killings in Kenya. This happened despite a robust legal framework prohibiting sexual violence. This article shows that the state’s to take cognisance of certain issues uniquely affecting women in Kenya in various aspects and contexts accumulate to disadvantage women, thereby making them more vulnerable. Second, the state’s failure to respond adequately to the unique plight of women during peacetime further exacerbates their suffering during armed conflicts. Thus, in a bid to find a better legal framework to protect women during conflict in Kenya, this article analyses the vulnerability theory of human rights which acknowledges that humans are generally and naturally vulnerable to certain elements. It concludes by stating that only when the vulnerability of women is understood and appreciated, can the law be effectively used to protect women against sexual and gender-based violence in conflict situations, among other hardships that women face, just by virtue of being women. It proposes among others a multidimensional approach including law reform, strict implementation of the existing law, economic inclusion of women and more investment in women as a remedy.

Land Conflict in Kenya: A Comprehensive Overview of Literature

Land governance continues to be a topic of high interest within policy and academic circles. The manner in which land institutions should (or should not) go about reforming national land policies has been a highly contested topic given the complex and multilayered nature of land-related conflicts. The purpose of this literature review is to identify and discuss how, why, and by whom land conflicts are mobilized to generate tension, conflict, and violence over land in Kenya. The article argues that, in addition to “global land rush” narratives, the structure of politics is a key organizing element of land conflict in Kenya. This is because politics define the kinds of relationships people have with land, including the institutions that prescribe, manage, and oversee land rights. This literature review contributes more broadly to address land conflict and ethno-political violence in Kenya.

Emerging Trends and Persistence of Inter-Ethnic Conflicts in Kenya

Ethnic conflicts remain the biggest setback to the development of many African nations today, Kenya included. This study analysed the emerging trends and reasons for the persistence of inter-ethnic conflicts in Kenya. It was undertaken in the context of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and was done in inter-ethnic prone Counties in Kenya including Nakuru, Eldoret, Laikipia and Mombasa. The study population was 1,624,345 PCEA members drawn from Nakuru west, Nakuru East, Njoro, Elburgon, Laikipia, Eldoret and Mombasa Presbyteries which are perceived as inter-ethnic conflicts dominant. A sample size of 384 respondents obtained through random sampling was selected from the presbyteries in the study locale. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design employing mixed methods of data collection. The instruments for data collection were questionnaires for the Church elders and members, structured interview guide for Church ministers and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) for victims. The study established that the major reasons for the persistence of inter-ethnic conflicts in Kenya are radicalization, economic imperialism, elite manipulation, deep-rooted cultural practices and language prejudices. These are the vices that must be eradicated if at all the inter-ethnic conflicts which have been the major hiccups to the socio-political and economic development of Kenya will be effectively addressed. Key Words : Kenya; inter-ethnic conflicts, Presbyterian Church of East Africa DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-16-05 Publication date : August 31 st 2019

'White Terror and Ghosts of Kenya': Postcolonial, Socio-Political Imagery and Narratives of Kenyan Diasporas

“White Terror” (2013), a BBC documentary details colonial atrocities in Kenya and thereafter state of emergency. I argue, ghosts (memories) of the atrocities still haunt a few remaining colonial survivors. Socio-political colonial structures were inherited in post-independence Kenya. The documentary based on Harvard’s History Professor Caroline Elkins (2005) research was evidenced in a legal suit of five colonial survivors against the British government for torture. Post-2007 ethno-political conflicts in Kenya can be linked to misappropriations in the 1954 Swynerton land tenure reforms. British occupation of native land sparked an insurgency that resulted in a state emergency (1952-1960), and later turned into struggle for independence. To Kenyans, Mau Mau (largely Kikuyus) were freedom fighters, but inhuman savage terrorists to colonial agents. Geographical annexing of land placed the Kikuyu, a dominant ethnic group close to the colonial capital, while the rest of the tribes were disbursed in the peripheries. In postcolonial Kenya, political and economic disparities herald power struggles between dominant ethnicities, in the case of Kenya; Kikuyu, Luo and Kalenjin. Postcolonial theory was a result of colonial experience, “the testimonies of the third world countries and discourses of minorities within geographical and political divisions of “East and West”, “North and South” (Bhabha 1994). First generational Kenyans survived colonialism, but retain narratives of the struggle over colonial domination. Using a postcolonial and discourse theoretic qualitative methodology for documentary and interviews analysis, this paper traces narratives of postcolonial Kenya and impacts on present day social political challenges.

Human-Wildlife Conflict in Kenya: Crop Raiding and People’s Coping Strategies in Mahiga-B Village, Nyeri County. (Charles Musyoki)

Human-Wildlife Conflict in Kenya: Crop Raiding and People’s Coping Strategies in Mahiga-B Village, Nyeri County. (Charles Musyoki)

Characteristics of Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Kenya: Examples of Tsavo and Maasai Mara Regions

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a widespread and persistent challenge to conservation. However, relatively few studies have thus far examined long-term monitoring data to quantify how the type, and severity of HWC varies across species, seasons, years and ecosystems. Here, we examine human-wildlife conflicts in Tsavo and Maasai Mara, two premier wildlife conservation areas in Kenya. Using Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) data (2001-2016), we show that both the type and severity of conflicts vary among species such that the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), is the leading conflict species in both the Tsavo (64.3%, n= 30664) and Mara (47.0%, n=12487) ecosystems. The next four most notorious conflict animals, in decreasing order, are nonhuman primates (Tsavo 11.4%, n=3502; Mara 11.8%, n=1473), African buffalo (Syncerus caffer, Tsavo 5.5%, n=1676; Mara 11.3%, n=1410), lion (Panthera leo,Tsavo 3.6%, n=1107; Mara 3.3%, n=416) and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta, Tsavo 2.4%, n=744; Mara 5.8%, n=729). We group the observed conflict incidences (n= 43,151) into four major conflict types, including crop raiding, the most common conflict type, followed by human and livestock attacks and property damage. The severity of conflicts also varies markedly seasonally and inter-annually. Crop raiding peaks in May-July, during and at the end of the wet season when crops are maturing but is lowest in November during the late dry season and beginning of the early rains. Attacks on humans and livestock increased more than other conflict types in both Tsavo (from 2001) and Mara (from 2013). Relatively fewer people in Mara (7.2%, n=901) than in Tsavo (38.2%, n = 11714) felt threatened by wildlife, suggesting that the Maasai people are more tolerant of wildlife. Minimizing HWC is tightly linked to successfully resolving the broader conservation challenges, including enhancing ecosystem connectivity, community engagement and conservation benefits to communities.

Modus Operandi of Oppressing the “Savages”: The Kenyan British Colonial Experience

Colonialism can be traced back to the dawn of the “age of discovery” that was pioneered by the Portuguese and the Spanish empires in the 15th century. It was not until the 1870s that “New Imperialism” characterized by the ideology of European expansionism envisioned acquiring new territories overseas. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 prepared the ground for the direct rule and occupation of Africa by European powers. In 1895, Kenya became part of the British East Africa Protectorate. From 1920, the British colonized Kenya until her independence in 1963. As in many other former British colonies around the world, most conspicuous and appalling was the modus operandi that was employed to colonize the targeted territories. Part one of this article discusses the tactics of subjugation used by the British to oppress, humiliate, subdue, conquer and colonize the Kenyan communities. These tactics included crown land ordinances; capitalist estate production; the establishment of African reserves and squatter systems; the formation of the “white” highlands; the imposition of taxes and forced labor; the imposition of the pass or Kipande System; missionary churches; the declaration of a state of emergency; military operations; villigilization; ethnic divide and rule; and flogging, torture, incarceration and execution. The findings offer a comparative template about the tactics used by the British in other colonies. Part two of this study addresses a new focus about the link between British colonialism and ethnopolitical conflicts in Kenya. This presents a new avenue for more focused interventionism in addressing such conflicts. Part three of this study introduces a new important inquiry about “what next?” for the victims and survivors of British colonialism in Kenya. The argument is that the study of British colonialism cannot be complete without interrogating transitional justice for the victims and survivors of colonial atrocities. The focus on transitional justice introduces a new debate about the need for collaborative action in facilitating restitution, reparations, healing and closure for victims and survivors of British colonial atrocities. Although resistance to colonial invasion was experienced in many parts of Kenya, this study concentrates on the Mount Kenya region where it was most intensive and dominant.

Resource conflict in Kenya’s titanium mining industry: Ethno-ecology and the redefinition of ownership, control, and compensation

ABSTRACTThe literature on community-mining enterprise conflict is currently dominated by discourses on equity, compensation, land ownership, and environmental degradation. While much debate has dwelled on whether mining is a curse or a blessing, little attention has been given to highlight the meanings that communities attach to the assets being fought over, and the need therefore to review existing laws on mining, and practices to reflect these realities.The displacement of over 3000 residents in Kwale, Kenya to make way for the mining of titanium has raised serious concerns over indigenous resource ownership and control in Kenya’s mining industry, calling for a fresh look at the Kenyan mining law. Using an ethno-ecological approach, this article explains how a community’s loss of land assets can induce a sense of vulnerability which can prefigure conflict. The conflict demonstrates the need for a more sensitive approach to community resource ownership and indigenous mineral control.

Exploring the ‘layeredness’ of recurring natural resource conflicts: The role of Loita Maasai leadership in the Naimina Enkiyio Forest conflicts in Kenya

This article examines two successive conflicts over the same forest in Kenya, which, when analysed separately, have led to interpretations that do not hold when the conflicts are studied in relation to each other. Inspired by political ecology, it employs a processual view of natural resource conflict, which recognizes that such conflicts may be ‘layered’ and composed of various struggles − or layers − at once, and that some of these struggles may not be discernible at first sight or when resource conflicts are studied in isolation. The conflicts presented in this article occurred between 1993 and 2005 and revolved around the Naimina Enkiyio Forest in south Kenya. They were initially triggered when a local authority, Narok County Council, and later the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), intended to implement plans and projects that would affect the way the forest was being used by the Loita Maasai. Rather than viewing the conflicts as being between a local community and powerful outsiders, I argue that they are best seen as different crystallizations of coalitions between local and outside actors running along a longstanding cleavage in the Loita’s leadership. This article examines how opposing Loita leadership groups forged outside alliances and mobilized support and resistance in Loita and elsewhere. In doing so, it will demonstrate that a particular layer was overlooked or minimized in the various interpretations that have been posited for the separate conflicts, namely a longstanding struggle within the leadership of the Loita Maasai. In fact, this struggle has proved to be crucial for providing a valid and consistent explanation that holds for the two conflicts when they are considered together.

Perspectivizing Vernacular Broadcast Media Intervention in Stemming Intra-Ethnic Conflict in Kenya: A Case of the Abakuria

The media can be used as an instrument to build as well as to destroy order, harmony and social coexistence in the human society. This study has tried to establish the inherent nature of social conflict and crises in human society as well as the significant role of the media and communication in forming and shaping individual or group perception of events or issues, as well as enhancing human interaction. It also perspectivizes the nature of violence and turmoil to the wellbeing of humanity. Vital roles of the media and the various conflict management apparatus like arbitration, collaboration, mediation, negotiation and reconciliation among other measures put in place to avert or control the recurrent violent conflict among the Abakuria community have also been highlighted. Keywords: intra-ethnic conflict, conflict resolution, vernacular broadcast media, Abakuria

Evaluating the Contemporary Vernacular Broadcast Media Intervention in Communities Prone to Intra-Ethnic Conflict in Kenya: A Case of the Abakuria

The media can be used as an instrument to build as well as to destroy order, harmony and social coexistence in the human society. This study has tried to establish the inherent nature of social conflict and crises in human society as well as the significant role of the media and communication in forming and shaping individual or group perception of events or issues, as well as enhancing human interaction. It also perspectivizes the nature of violence and turmoil to the wellbeing of humanity. Vital roles of the media and the various conflict management apparatus like arbitration, collaboration, mediation, negotiation and reconciliation among other measures put in place to avert or control the recurrent violent conflict among the Abakuria community have also been highlighted. Keywords: intra-ethnic conflict, conflict resolution, vernacular broadcast media, Abakuria

Ethnic or Economic Violence: The Real Cause of Kenya's 2007 Election Violence

Violence between various ethnic groups when sudden and out of context may not be about ethnicity at all. In this paper I seek to unveil the causes of the violence in Kenya after the 2007 elections by examining Kenya’s economic and political history. I begin, in Section I, with a brief overview of the post-election violence in Kenya, noting the overly simplistic approach taken by many Western Media sources in pointing to ethnic hatred as the root cause of this violence. In Section II, I review the history of Kenya’s economy during colonialism, and the level of inequality among Africans under the colonial regime. Next, in Section III, I explain the independence movement in Kenya, noting that the Luo and Kikuyu represented the two major poles of influence in the anti-colonialist movement. In Section IV, I then document how ethnicity politics came to dominate Kenya’s post-colonial political economy, first with Kenyatta and then with Moi. In Section V analyze ethnicity politics, arguing that the colonial policies set the stage for a competition over resources, which evolved into ethnic competition. Finally, in Section VI, I reassess the conflict in Kenya by incorporating Kenya’s economic and social history and the nature of ethnic politics. I conclude that ethnicity is only a superficial cause of the violence in Kenya, and that fundamentally the violence is the result of an inadequate state capacity to ensure the basic needs of its citizens. In Section VII I summarize the historical factors that have influenced the violence in Kenya.

The Role of Media in Conflict Management: The Case of Electoral Conflicts in Kenya

The Role of Media in Conflict Management: The Case of Electoral Conflicts in Kenya Col (Rtd) Zachary K Chebii Abstract The role played by media in conflicts has been an issue of discussion all over the world. Although media influence has increased tremendously in the last decade, researchers are yet to agree on the degree and magnitude of its influence in conflicts. The context analysis of Kenya election coverage and post election conflict of 2007/08 revealed that media has a ‘double-edge’ role in electoral conflict situation i.e. conflict escalation and de-escalation roles. The conflict escalation role is more prevalent with vernacular (local) media stations while the conflict de-escalation role is predominant with nationwide mainstream stations. This affirmed the study conceptualized framework developed from libertarian theory and social responsibility theory of media reporting. In addition, people’s response to conflict coverage is persuaded by their age, gender and social status as human variables. Therefore, to mitigate conflict reporting misrepresentation, specifically in weak democratic states, a common approach to conflict reporting should be designed and adhered to. More importantly, there need to be stringent regulations and control of vernacular (local) FM stations which are prone to manipulation by political elite. This should be coupled with training of journalists on conflict reporting and development of a standard conflict reporting procedure. Lastly, media houses should be discouraged from running parallel tallying centres, a mandate reserved for legitimate electoral body. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jgpc.v3n2a3

The Role of State, Non-State Actors and Information Communication Technologies in Peace-Building in Mt. Elgon Region, Kenya

Intra-state conflicts in the African continent pose a threat to stability and security of the region. The conflict pitting Soy and Ndorobo clans in Mt. Elgon erupted when members of the Soy clan rejected an attempt by the government of Kenya (GoK) to resettle the landless members of the Ndorobo in Chebyuk settlement scheme. The conflict had great socio-economic impacts like loss of lives, massive destruction of property, population displacement and feelings of hatred and animosity amongst the residents. While there is a plethora of literature on causes and effects of intra-ethnic conflicts in Kenya, there is a dearth on peace-building endeavours and the potential of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in conflict resolutions. This study was designed to assess the potential role of state, non-state actors and ICTs in peace-building. The study was based on the conflict transformation theory and diffusion of innovations theory. This qualitative study used in-depth interviews using local inhabitants, state and non-state actors purposively sampled. Data were analysed based on the interpretive approach. The results show that ICTs such as mobile telephones, the Internet and radio-phones had a great potential in peace-building but were seldom (20%) employed. The paper contributes to the on-going dialogue on peace building efforts in Mt. Elgon and other regions experiencing similar conflicts and recommends more use of ICTs in peace-building efforts than was the case in this study. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n3p358

Analysis of Socio-Economic factors that Influence involvement in Resource Based Conflicts in Kenya

To effectively analyze the relationship between socio-economic factors and resource-based conflicts, the two variables were assessed in a number of dimensions. The five dimensions used to assess socio-economic factors include: education, ethnicity, employment status, religion and age. Resource-based conflicts, on the other hand, was assessed by considering two dimensions: involvement in resource-based conflicts and knowledge of the time of the conflicts. The dimensions were used so as to understand the two concepts under the study – socio-economic factors and resource-based conflicts. This study therefore examined the relationship between each of the dimensions of each variable and the dimensions of the other variable. The study used a structured questionnaire, in-depth interview schedule and an observation schedule to collect data. A standardized questionnaire was administered to selected household respondents. The data for the study was analyzed using Chi Square (), Cramer’s V, Phi () and Contingency co-efficient (C) used to determine the relationship between socio-economic factors and involvement in resource-based conflicts and the strength of this relationship at  =0.05 significance level. The study established that socio-economic factors influence the involvement in resource based conflicts.

Ethnicity, corruption and violence in urban land conflict in Kenya

Relatively little has been recorded about the relationships among ethnicity, corruption and conflict over urban land, especially at community level. The stories of land matters in four lower-income settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, drawn from extensive interviews with their occupants and officials and field observations, shed light on the roles of corruption and ethnicity in land conflicts and the character of violence involved. At the same time, they reveal new details of competition for urban land rights. In these cases, land conflict seemed to promote corruption and the use of ethnicity, while corruption and ethnicity were able to alter the relationship of this conflict to violence. There are findings here regarding sources of urban violence in general.

Early Warning and the Role of New Technologies in the Prevention of Violence and Conflict in Kenya

This paper considers the structural uses of new technologies (information communication technologies) in Kenya’s early warning and conflict prevention mechanism managed by the National Steering Committee on Peace-building and Conflict Management (NSC), a multi-agency organization established in 2001 and mandated with the coordination of all peace-related activities. The NSC is domiciled in the Ministry of Provincial Administration and Internal Security in the Office of the President. The paper conducts an analysis of the NSC’s early warning system (which is also the national plank of the regional Conflict Early Warning System established for the implementation of the CEWARN Protocol adopted by IGAD Member States) with a view to establishing the use, impact as well as limitations of technologies in early warning. These technologies include social media (Facebook, Twitter), cell phones, wireless radio, etc. Other than NSC, it also outlines other national initiatives that can be considered part of the broader national early warning and conflict prevention framework. For comparative purposes, the paper reviews IGAD’s ICT 4 Peace Project that were piloted in the Karamoja Sector. The aim of the review is to establish the role of technologies in early warning and preventative context, its impact and to draw any lessons for national and regional early warning systems on the potential for technology in conflict prevention.

Human–hippo conflicts in Kenya during 1997–2008: vulnerability of a megaherbivore to anthropogenic land use changes

Rising human population and the associated demand for more land, water and other natural resources are intensifying conflicts between people and wildlife worldwide. We investigated the nature, intensity, seasonality, spatial and temporal patterns in human–hippo conflict incidences reported from wildlife stations Kenya-wide over a 12-year period spanning 1997–2008. Overall, 4493 human–hippo conflict incidences were recorded, representing a mean rate of 4.46 ± 0.29 incidences per month. The conflict incidences increased by 1285% from 1997 to 2008, resulting in 937 peak incidences reported in 2008. Number of conflict incidences differed among conservation regions, with incidences increasing during severe droughts and over time. Crop damage was the most commonly reported type of conflict. Wildlife managers attended to 90% of all reported conflict incidences. Hippo mortality increased linearly with increasing conflict incidences, portending a precarious future for hippos outside protected areas of Kenya. This dramatic rise in human–hippo conflicts is a consequence of fundamental land use changes around wetland habitats.

Climate change, violent conflict and local institutions in Kenya’s drylands

Many regions that are endowed with scarce natural resources such as arable land and water, and which are remote from a central government, suffer from violence and ethnic strife. A number of studies have looked at the convergence of economic, political and ecological marginality in several African countries. However, there is limited empirical study on the role of violence in pastoral livelihoods across ecological and geographical locations. Yet, case studies focusing on livelihood and poverty issues could inform us about violent behaviour as collective action or as individual decisions, and to what extent such decisions are informed or explained by specific climatic conditions. Several case studies point out that violence is indeed an enacted behaviour, rooted in culture and an accepted form of interaction. This article critically discusses the relevance of geographical and climatic parameters in explaining the connection between poverty and violent conflicts in Kenya’s pastoral areas. These issues are considered vis-à-vis the role institutional arrangements play in preventing violent conflict over natural resources from occurring or getting out of hand. The article uses long-term historical data, archival information and a number of fieldwork sources. The results indicate that the context of violence does not deny its agency in explanation of conflicts, but the institutional set-up may ultimately explain the occurrence of the resource curse.

Notes on Land-based Conflicts in Kenya's Arid Areas

is a post-doctoral researcher within the research unit “Resil-ience, Collapse and Reorganisation” in the Department of Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Cologne. His current research focuses on land-use change, conflicts, and the transformation of social-ecological systems in East Pokot, Kenya. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Hamburg with a multi-sited ethnography on rural–urban migration in Namibia.