SUMMARY
The Rift Valley Province of Kenya is home to a large number of ethnic groups. Together with the Western Province and Nyanza, it is one of the most densely populated areas of Kenya. There is a long tradition of cattle-raiding in the region, with it being used e.g. as an initiation ritual for young men. With the increased availability of modern weapons, cattle raids became more violent and deadly. Tribal clashes can furthermore be characterized by a circular pattern since in order to assure survival, raided tribes must retaliate against other tribes to replenish lost livestock. Also the conflict between the Kalenjin on the one side and the Luo and Kisii on the other is characterized by such vicious circles of violence.
Aside from the tensions caused by cattle raiding, another factor having a negative influence on inter-ethnic relations are land disputes. In Kenya access to land is central for most people. Different systems and corruption have led to many areas having double or triple registrations over the same land. Furthermore, the disputes over land result from increased within Kenya migration. Many Luo and Kisii left their overpopulated homelands in order to work in the Rift Valley, the traditional home of the Kalenjin. Traditionally, such land disputes were not linked to ethnicity. But since the early 1990s, political rhetoric relied increasingly on ethnic stereotypes and as a result, the previously non-ethnic land disputes became more and more linked to ethnicity.
In addition to traditional cattle raids and the land issue, the conflict between the Kalenjin on one side and the Luo and Kisii on the other also had a political dimension. In 1992, Kenya faced, for the first time after decades of one-party rule, multi-party elections on both, the regional and the national level (parliament and President). Standing President Daniel Arap Moi - in office since 1978 and ethnic Kalenjin - ran successfully for re-election. Multi-party politics was introduced in Kenya in December 1991 due to high pressure from international donors and against the will of President Moi. Moi constantly warned that a multi-party system would lead to ethnic tensions and destabilize the country. Opposition leaders accused Moi of inflaming ethnic tension himself, in order to find an excuse to call off the elections. As a result, several non-state conflicts occurred in Kenya in 1992 (see also the Kalenjin – Luhya conflict, and the Kalenjin – Kikuyu conflict). In Kenya, the importance of elections is intensified by a Westminster-style constitution and the winner-takes-all principle, leaving the minority with little means to defend its interest. This is aggravated by a tradition of the candidate winning the elections afterward strongly favoring its own people at the expense of other groups.
The non-state conflict between Kalenjin and Luo and Kisii is first included in UCDP data in 1992. In March of that year fighting between the two sides had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
