Country Technical Note on Indigenous Peoples' Issues: Republic of Kenya

The Republic of Kenya has a multi-ethnic population, among which more than 25 communities identify as indigenous. The concept of indigenous peoples is not recognized in Kenya but the government acknowledges the existence of “marginalized communities” and the new 2010 Constitution identifies these in terms very similar to the language used in the UNDRIP. These communities include hunter-gatherers and pastoralists. Both communities experience economic marginalization and socio-political exclusion in a state dominated by the interests of larger agricultural groups.

 

Most hunter-gatherer communities live in the forested areas of the Highlands and the coast or near rivers and lakes. This is where they used to hunt (and/or fish) and gather honey and other forest products. Despite administrative efforts to assimilate them within larger ethnic groups, they have to a large extent kept their distinct identity and culture. The pastoralist groups are found on the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), which constitute 84% of the country’s area. They are diverse in terms of size, culture and identity. However, they also share several features: their capacity to adapt and survive in a harsh environment; the importance of livestock for their subsistence but also for their identity and culture; the system of formal age-sets and “moranhood”
(warriorhood)—a period for the youths to develop and assert their bravery through cattle raiding.