SUMMARY

Before gaining independence in 1963 Kenya was a British colony, part of the vast swathes of land controlled by the British Empire in eastern Africa. The country has since experienced an independence struggle, ethnic conflicts, election related violence as well as an armed conflict against al-Shabaab an armed group with roots in Somalia.

2025

In 2025, the level of violence in Kenya decreased significantly compared to the previous year, with the lowest number of fatalities recorded since the early 2000s. Both state-based and non-state violence remained at relatively low intensity, while no one-sided violence reached UCDP’s 25-fatality threshold.

The state-based conflict between the Government of Kenya and Al-Shabaab decreased markedly. This reduction was reflected in fewer cross-border attacks and a lower frequency of large-scale incidents compared to previous years. Violence remained concentrated in northeastern counties, particularly Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera, where Al-Shabaab continued to carry out sporadic attacks. However, these incidents were generally smaller in scale.

The level of non-state violence also declined compared to the previous year. In Turkana North constituency, the Dassanetch and Turkana clashed over grazing land, water resources, and livestock, particularly along the border between northwestern Kenya and southwestern Ethiopia. Incidents typically involved small-scale clashes and cattle raiding, resulting in just over 25 fatalities. While tensions persisted, there were no major escalations, and the conflict remained sporadic and geographically contained.

Organized violence in Kenya

Since 2015, there has been an ongoing conflict between the Government of Kenya and the al-Qaida linked group al-Shabaab over the territory of the Northeastern Providence and the Coast of Kenya. The conflict between Government of Kenya and al-Shabaab stems mainly from Kenya’s involvement as a secondary warring party in the intrastate conflict in Somalia. Initially, the al-Shabaab attacks inside Kenya were portrayed as retaliation for this involvement, but in March 2015 al-Shabaab publicly stated a separate incompatibility against the Kenyan government. Since then, al-Shabaab has carried out sporadic attacks on military installations and convoys in Kenya, often using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), killing dozens of Kenyan police officers and soldiers. Al-Shabaab activity is mainly concentrated to the counties of Lamu, Mandera and Garissa, which lie near the Somali border. However, al-Shabaab has also carried out several one-sided attacks against civilians in Kenya, two of the most high-profile ones being the Westgate shopping mall attack in September 2013 and the Garissa University Collage attack on 2 April 2015, the latter killing 148 civilians. In January 2019, al-Shabaab attacked a luxury hotel in the capital Nairobi, killing at least 21 civilians.

As of 2019, the Kenyan government, through African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission AMISOM, continues to provide secondary warring support to the Government of Somalia in the fight against al-Shabaab. In 2017, it was reported that Kenya contributed 3,664 troops to AMISOM.

Apart from the current conflict with al-Shabaab, Kenya has mainly been struck by non-state conflicts. These conflicts have mainly occurred between different tribes that engaged in cattle raids or fought about grazing rights and water (for example see Nyangatom - Turkana and Marakwet - Pokot). It is also common that ethnic groups along the Kenya – Uganda and Kenya – Ethiopia borders clash, as for instance in the conflicts between Karimojong – Pokot and Borana – Gabra. Non-state violence has also occurred in the context of elections (for example see Kikuyu – Luo and Kalenjin – Kikuyu).

Moreover, Kenya has experienced one-sided violence carried out by the government, especially in connection to elections. This was particularly prominent around the December 2007 general elections. Both the running up to and the aftermath of these elections were clouded by political and ethnic violence, as well as by allegations of fraud. As a consequence, Kenya faced a series of demonstrations in January 2008, which were met with extreme police brutality. Police fired randomly at civilians during peaceful demonstrations, as well as conducted targeted executions of individual demonstrators. This brutality was said to be part of a policy to hit the demonstrators hard so that they would not continue their protests. The more recent 2017 general elections were also marred by violence and human rights violations, the Kenyan police force being responsible for the killing of dozens of civilians.

One-sided violence in Kenya has also been perpetrated by a religious sect called Mungiki and by the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF).

Pre-1989 conflicts

The struggle for independence in Kenya was led by Jomo Kenyatta, a Moscow-trained and London-educated revolutionary who commanded the KAU (Kenya African Union). The nationalist struggle in what was to become Kenya was fueled in the post-World War II years by widespread opposition among indigenous Africans against the huge farmlands given to white settlers. The KAU’s non-violent strategy of reaching independence was eventually outflanked by a spurt of increasing militancy against the colonial authorities. Violent suppression by the British colonial authorities of this dissent soon turned into an armed conflict, with the Mau Mau movement fighting the British between 1952 and 1956. While the rebellion was defeated by the British, it led to some reforms of Kenyan society.

With the concern for further bloodshed in mind the British authorities began to accelerate Kenya’s strides towards independence. Kenyatta, who had been imprisoned for alleged collaboration with the Mau Mau movement, was released in 1961 and became Kenya’s first president in 1964. Unlike many other African leaders at the time, Kenyatta chose to adhere to capitalist policies in the economic sphere, yielding Kenya a relatively prosperous economy. Kenyatta, although ostensibly the leader of a democracy, took steps towards consolidating power in the hand of himself and his administration. After his death in 1978, Kenyatta was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi, who turned Kenya into an authoritarian and corrupt one-party state that repressed dissent wherever it was found. His rule was challenged in 1982, when a failed military coup led to a short intrastate conflict. Daniel arap Moi maintained his grip on power even as multiparty elections were held in the mid- and late 1990s, before being barred from running in 2002, when the presidential seat passed on to Mwai Kibaki.