The North Frontier District (NFD), or Northern Frontier Province, [1] or simply Northern Frontier was one of the regions of British Kenya. Originally, the NFD covered the northern region of East Africa Protectorate later succeeded by British Kenya, it later included half of the Jubaland province that remained as part of Kenya when the other half was ceded to the Italian Empire. [2]
By the late 1920s, the Northern Frontier District covered nearly half of the colony's territory. The population of the region was estimated to be 65,136 in 1931. [3] It was one of the most underdeveloped region of the colony and was not favoured by settlers due to its arid and semi-arid climate. [4] In 1963, the NFD was divided into five districts across two provinces: Marsabit and Isiolo in Eastern Province; Wajir, Mandera and Garissa in North Eastern Province. [5]
During negotiations for Kenya's independence, Britain granted administration of the whole of the NFD to Kenyan nationalists despite an informal plebiscite showing the overwhelming desire of part of the region's population to join the newly formed Somali Republic. [4] The North Eastern Region of the NFD is, and has historically been, mostly inhabited by Somalis. [6] [7]
In present-day usage, the NFD refers to the five counties of Kenya that were established out of the five districts created by the colonial government prior to independence.
The Northern Frontier Province existed in the East Africa Protectorate as one of nine protectorate's provinces. [2] At the time under British colonial administration, the northern half of Jubaland was ceded to Italy as a reward for the Italians' support of the Allies during World War I. [8] Britain retained control of the southern half of the territory, which was later merged with the Northern Frontier District. [2]
On 26 June 1960, four days before granting British Somaliland independence, the British government declared that all Somali-inhabited areas of East Africa, Greater Somalia should be unified in one administrative region. Which meant Kenya was to cede part of the Northern Frontier District. However, after the dissolution of the former British colonies in the region, Britain granted administration of the Northern Frontier District to Kenyan nationalists despite an informal plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the region's population to join the newly formed Somali Republic, [9] and the fact that the NFD was almost exclusively inhabited by ethnic Somalis. [10]
In December 1962, at the urging of the Somalia government, the British appointed a commission to ascertain the desires of the inhabitants of the Northern Frontier District regarding its future. The commissioners reported that the inhabitants of five of the six administrative areas of the Northern Frontier District favoured union with the Somali Republic. [11] According to the Somali Republic, unification was favoured by 88% of the inhabitants. [12] Early in 1963, Britain assured Somalia that no decision would be made regarding the Northern Frontier District without prior consultation with the Republic. However, Britain did not follow the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the Northern Frontier District and cede the territory to the Somalia Republic. Instead, on 8 March 1963, Britain announced the creation of the North Eastern Region out of the Northern Frontier District. Unsatisfied with this solution, the Somali Republic severed diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 18 March 1963. [13]
On the eve of Kenya's independence in August 1963, British officials belatedly realized that the new Kenyan regime was not willing to give up the Somali-inhabited areas it had just been granted administration of. Led by the Northern Province People's Progressive Party (NPPPP), Somalis in the NFD vigorously sought union with their kin in the Somali Republic to the north. [14]
In response, the Kenyan government enacted a number of repressive measures designed to frustrate their efforts in what came to be known as the shifta period: [6] Somali leaders were routinely placed in preventive detention, where they remained well into the late 1970s. The North Eastern Province was closed to general access (along with other parts of Kenya) as a "scheduled" area (ostensibly closed to all outsiders, including members of parliament, as a means of protecting the nomadic inhabitants), and news from it was very difficult to obtain. A number of reports, however, accused the Kenyans of mass slaughters of entire villages of Somali citizens and of setting up large "protected villages"—in effect concentration camps. The government refused to acknowledge the ethnically based irredentist motives of the Somalis, making constant reference in official statements to the shifta (bandit) problem in the area. [6]
Although the main conflict ended in a cease-fire in 1967, Somalis in the region still identify and maintain close ties with their brethren in Somalia. [15] They have traditionally married within their own community and formed a cohesive ethnic network. [16]
The demography of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census.
Italian Somaliland was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Sultanates of Hobyo and Majeerteen in the north, and in the south by political entities such as the Hiraab Imamate and Geledi Sultanate.
Greater Somalia sometimes called Greater Somaliland is the geographical location comprising the regions in the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited.
Kismayo is a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region.
The North Eastern Province is one of the former provinces of Kenya. It had a land area of 127,358.5 km2, with its capital at Garissa. The North Eastern Province was carved out of the then Northern Frontier District (NFD) prior to independence.
The Somali Republic was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the State of Somaliland. A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate administrations, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of the Somali National Assembly and Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic. On 22 July 1960, Daar appointed Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister. On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum, Somalia ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960. The new constitution was rejected by Somaliland.
Isiolo is a town in Isiolo County, of which it is the capital. It is located in the upper eastern region of Kenya and is geographically considered the center of the country Kenya. It lies 285 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. The town grew around the local military camps. Much of the population consists of Somali, Borana and Ameru community. The town has an estimated population of 78,250, most of them living around the outskirts of the town. Like most African cities, there has been a steady increase in the urban population in recent years, especially moving from as far as Moyale, Marsabit and Mandera. Isiolo town is also becoming a centre of interest because of its newly acquired status as a resort city cashing in on the popular Samburu and Shaba Game reserves, which have become preferred destinations after the famed Maasai Mara. Isiolo lies along the long A2 Road, leading towards Marsabit and Moyale much further north.
Garissa is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province.
The Orma is one of the Oromo clans in the Horn of Africa who predominantly live in Tana River County in northern Kenya and in southern Ethiopia. They share a common language and cultural heritage with other Oromo clans. First and foremost they are pastoralists and almost all are Muslims. In 2019 the Orma numbered 158,993.
The following is a list of the political history of East Africa.
Garissa County is an administrative county in Kenya. It is located in Eastern Kenya bordering Somalia to the East, Wajir County and Isiolo County to the North, Tana River County to the West and Lamu County to the South. Its capital and largest urban area is Garissa.
The Bajuni people are a Bantu ethnic group who live primarily in the Bajuni Islands of Somalia and coastal areas between the port city of Kismayo and the city of Mombasa in Kenya. They relocated from Shungwaya (Somalia) to their current location due to war with Cushitic groups, who drove them out from their ancestral territory.
The Shifta War or Gaf Daba (1963–1967) was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis in the Northern Frontier District (NFD) of Kenya attempted to join Somalia. The Kenyan government named the conflict "shifta", after the Swahili word for "bandit", as part of a propaganda effort. The Kenyan counter-insurgency General Service Units forced civilians into "protected villages" as well as killing livestock kept by the pastoralist Somalis.
Oltre Giuba or Trans-Juba was an Italian colony in the territory of Jubaland in present-day southern Somalia. It lasted from 1924 until 1926, when it was absorbed into Italian Somaliland. Transjuba is the former name of Jubaland, a federal member state of Somalia.
Somalis in Kenya are citizens and residents of Kenya who are of Somali ethnic descent. They have historically inhabited the North Eastern Province, previously called the Northern Frontier District, which was carved out of the Jubaland region of present-day southern Somalia during the colonial period. Following the civil war in Somalia that broke out in 1991, many Somalis sought asylum in the Somali-inhabited enclaves of Kenya. An entrepreneurial community, they established themselves in the business sector, particularly in the Nairobi suburb of Eastleigh.
Kenya–Somalia relations are bilateral relations between Kenya and Somalia. Both countries are members of the African Union and Non-Aligned Movement.
The Somali–Kenyan conflict has been an issue within Kenya since the colonial period. Problems have ranged from skirmishes between the two communities and have led to terrorist attacks, police harassment, extortion, home invasions, physical violence, and massacres perpetrated against Somalis and Kenyans.
Jubaland, the Juba Valley or Azania, is a Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km (25–35 mi) east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya, which was carved out of Jubaland during the colonial period.
Somalia–United Kingdom relations are bilateral relations between Somalia and the United Kingdom.
Michael Mariano (1914-1987) was a Somali politician and businessman best remembered for leading a delegation to UN Headquarters in New York City and advocating for the return of the Somali inhabited Haud reserved area to Somali administration from the Ethiopian Empire. A notable member of the Somali Youth League, Mariano was fluent in Somali, Arabic and English.