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Competing Claims and Contested Boundaries: Legitimating Land Rights in Isiolo District, Northern Kenya

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  • Saafo Roba Boye
  • Randi Kaarhus

Abstract

People from five different ethnic groups share the territory that is Isiolo District, situated in northern Kenya. This article gives an account of the different groups’ claims to land in this inter-ethnic setting, which is located in the border area of the vast drylands southeast of the Sahara. Presenting contemporary claims in a narrative form, the authors illustrate how these claims seek legitimacy through reference to historical processes, to first-comer status and to former governments’ decisions, to citizenship dues, as well as to “tribal” group rights. Taking into account the fact that the broader constitutional, political and social contexts related to these narratives and claims are, at present, in a state of transition, the article seeks to situate the local people’s perspectives and local land dynamics within broader discourses on land conflict and land policy reform in Africa. In this way, it also provides context for the series of new inter-ethnic clashes that took place in Isiolo District in 2011.

Suggested Citation

  • Saafo Roba Boye & Randi Kaarhus, 2011. "Competing Claims and Contested Boundaries: Legitimating Land Rights in Isiolo District, Northern Kenya," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 46(2), pages 99-124.
    • Handle: RePEc:gig:afjour:v:46:y:2011:i:2:p:99-124
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    File URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/463/461
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lesorogol, Carolyn K., 2005. "Privatizing pastoral lands: economic and normative outcomes in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1959-1978, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hannah Elliott, 2022. "Durable conversions: Property, aspiration, and inequality in urban northern Kenya," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 112-124, January.
    2. Nyong Princely Awazi & Amy Quandt, 2021. "Livelihood resilience to environmental changes in areas of Kenya and Cameroon: a comparative analysis," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Amy Quandt, 2019. "Variability in perceptions of household livelihood resilience and drought at the intersection of gender and ethnicity," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Clemens Greiner & Michael Bollig & J. Terrence McCabe, 2011. "Notes on Land-based Conflicts in Kenya’s Arid Areas," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 46(3), pages 77-81.
    5. Jean-Pierre Jacob & Pierre-Yves Le Meur, 2012. "Three Views of a Secret: Land Rights and the Constitution of Local Citizenship in West Africa," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 47(1), pages 89-96.

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