Behind the Scenes, Kenya IDP Report - Danish Refugee Council

Chapter 2:Setting the SceneThe Great Lakes region is said to be home to overeight million internally displaced persons. 10 IDPsare persons or groups of persons who have beenforced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes orplaces of habitual residence, in particular as a resultof or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict,situations of generalised violence, violationsof human rights, natural or human-made disasters,and development programmes and who have notcrossed an internationally-recognised state border.11 Internal displacement within the region hasbeen caused by conflict, disaster, violence, massivedevelopment projects and socio-economicinequalities leading to landlessness among otherthings. This population is distributed across all thenations that fall within the region and represents asignificant segment of global statistics on internaldisplacement. 12Kenya has a long history of displacement with aclimax in the aftermath of the 2007/ 2008 postelectionviolence. This section discusses some ofthe causes of violence in Kenya as a way of providinga context for understanding advocacy work fora policy on internal displacement.2.1. Causes of Displacement inKenya2.1.1. Colonial and Post-ColonialFactorsThe introduction of colonisation saw the forceddisplacement of African communities from theirancestral lands to make way for the white settlers.In Kenya, this was exemplified in evictions fromfertile lands in Rift-Valley and Central Kenya wherethe natives were reduced to squatter-labour forcefor colonial settlers. At the time of independence,it was expected that this adverse legacy of colonialland alienation processes would be corrected. 13However, the post-independence governmentwent ahead to preside over a land re-distributionprogramme that instead became a further sourceof discord. Initial land allocations in favour of personswho had been labourers on the settler farmsincensed the pastoralist communities of the RiftValley and fuelled the sentiment of “outsider communities”which continues to persist to this day.The situation was compounded by a programme toempower communities through formation of landbuyingcompanies which saw large-scale land acquisitionby communities perceived as close to thecentre of power. This historical context infuseditself with the political and ethnic relations ofKenyan society and has become a cause of periodicpopulation movements and displacement inKenya. 142.1.2. Election-related ViolenceMassive internal displacement in Kenya can betraced to the re-introduction of multi-party politicsin 1992 with political parties formed largelyalong ethnic lines becoming vehicles for championingredress for perceived communal injustices.This trend continued into the 1997 general elections,with violence registered in the Rift Valleyand Coast provinces leading to the displacementof 120,000 people. The victims were largely fromcommunities perceived as supporters of oppositionparties. In total, election-related violence priorto the 2007 general elections is said to have beenresponsible for the displacement of approximately350,000 persons. 15 Violence following the 2007general elections saw an escalated and unprecedentedlevel of displacement that affected 663,921people. 16 Areas affected by election-related dis-placement include mainly Molo, Njoro, Kuresoi,Eldoret, Burnt Forest, and Coastal region. 172.1.3. Border and ResourceDisputes Including CattleRustling and BanditryClosely associated with political conflict are borderdisputes arising from arbitrarily establishedadministrative boundaries and contested landrights. As administrative boundaries began to createethnic enclaves, minority communities withinthese boundaries soon became the target of forcefulevictions. Areas such as Chesikaki in Mt. Elgon,Ol Moran in Laikipia West, Thangatha in Tigania,the Pokot/Turkana border, Riosiri in Rongo,Tembu in Sotik, Masurura in Transmara, Marsabit-Isioloand Tana River 18 have been particularlyproblematic in this regard. 19 Related to generaldisputes about resources is the evolution of cattlerustlingfrom a traditional practice to one of belligerenceand criminality fuelled by politics and theproliferation of small arms and light weapons. Pastoralistcommunities such as the Pokot, Turkana,Marakwet, Samburu, Tugen and Keiyo continue toendure incidences of displacement, death and lossof livestock over time 20 , as detailed in a 2003 studyon conflict in Northern Kenya estimating the levelof displacement in the pastoralist areas of NorthFrontier Districts (NFDs) 21 in Kenya 22 at 164,457.2.1.4. Natural and Human MadeDisasters 23A historical profile from 1975-2004 indicatesthat Kenya has experienced multiple episodes ofdrought, landslides and floods in various parts ofthe country with far-reaching economic and socialconsequences. 24 Kenya experiences regular floodsin the areas of Kano, Nyakach, Rachuonyo, Migori,Budalangi, Kilifi, Kwale, the Tana River Basin, Garrissa,Wajir, Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kisumu,Baringo, Elgeyo and Marakwet districts. 25 Landslidesand mudslides also occur mostly during therainy season and are accelerated by flooding.2.1.5. Development Projects andDisplacementKenyans have also been displaced from their landsand homes on account of development projectsand environmental conservation efforts carriedout arbitrarily. A recent decision from the AfricanCommission on Human and Peoples’ Rights restoredthe land rights of the Endorois communitywho had been displaced from their ancestral landsto make way for a game reserve. 26 More recently,a taskforce recommended the eviction of personsdeemed to have encroached on the Mau Forestscomplex in a bid to conserve the country’s essentialwater towers. 27 As of September 2011, some6,500 families had been evicted from the complexwith a further 23,500 projected for eviction oncethe next phase of restoration commences. 28 Otherprojects that may lead to displacement includethe Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport(LAPSSET) project and the discovery of oil inTurkana. The LAPSSET project will comprise of aport, an international airport and an oil refinery inLamu along with a road and pipeline network cuttingacross Kenya, Ethiopia and Southern Sudanand according to initial assessment by the governmentmay affect 6,000 families. 292.2. Towards a PolicyFrameworkFrom the very outset, it must be acknowledgedthat although before 2008 Kenya did not have asingle repository encompassing all its policies inrelation to internal displacement, such polices didexist. The policies existed as part of other laws, forinstance those relating to human rights, developmentplans, disaster response, compulsory acquisitionof land, armed conflict and laws on generaladministration. Other policies existed not in writtenform but were employed through practice andmostly depended on the preferences and prioritiesof the government of the day. 30 What Kenya wasreally missing before the 2008 displacements wasa consistent and coordinated response to internaldisplacement. The Government did not expresslyrecognise the protection needs of IDPs, and inter-6Behind the Scenes – Lessons Learnt from Developing a National Policy Framework on Internal Displacement in Kenya 7