SUMMARY

At the heart the conflict between Kalenjin and Kisii is the access land. In Kenya the access to land is central for most people. Different systems, corruption, and other problems have led to that many areas have double or triple registrations over the same land. This struggle for land is especially important in the densely populated Rift Valley region of Western Kenya. The Kalenjin sees the areas as their ancient homeland and feels that they should have control over it. Other groups that have come to the area later either through migration a long time ago (as the Kisii) or through land given to them from Kenya’s first president Jomo Kenyatta (as the Kikuyu) are seen as newcomers that do not possess the right to the land. The Kalenjin sees it as their homeland at the same time as the Kisii feels that they have the right to the land because they have been living there for a long time. This leads to a hesitant situation that often takes political forms as many in the region votes for a candidate that it believes can offer them solutions to this land issue. Violence between different groups often takes place in relation to important elections.

The non-state conflict between Kalenjin and Kisii is first included in UCDP data in 2008. In February that year, fighting in Rift Valley resulted in more than 70 battle-related deaths.