Indigenous Affairs 3-4/08: The Indigenous people's movement in Kenya

Indigenous communities in Kenya are mostly dependent upon land given that the majority of them are pastoralists, with a small percentage being hunters and gatherers. The plight of these communities has been a sorry one as their way of life has not been considered a part of the mainstream economy by the government. These communities have hence been neglected, with poor infrastructural developments in their regions and a lack of favorable policies to safeguard their interests and protect their rights. The challenges facing these communities are twofold: those in the north are often faced with insecurity as a result of the proliferation of small arms from neighboring warring countries and the scramble for limited resources, while those in the south face a lack of secure land tenure due to the government’s failure to recognise their form of land ownership.