Total population | |
---|---|
2,780,502 (2019 census) [1] [2] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
North Eastern Province · Nairobi · Mombasa | |
Languages | |
Somali (mother tongue) English, Swahili (working languages) | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam |
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Culture of Kenya |
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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.
According to the 2019 Kenya census, approximately 2,780,502 ethnic Somalis live in Kenya. [1] Among these individuals are a number of ethnically Somali international migrants, around 300,000 of whom inhabit the wider East and South Africa regions. [3] These ethnic Somalis are distinct from the Bantus and other minorities of Somalia, who according to USAID constitute most of the estimated 413,170 refugees from Somalia in Kenya. [4]
Somalis in Kenya, being Eastern Cushites, formed one of the last waves of migrations into present-day Kenya. The current Somali clans started moving into what is today North Eastern Kenya after the Oromo(Galla) were dislodged from the Juba Valley and mostly moved to the Ethiopian Highlands in the 16th Century, leaving much of Southern Somalia and North Eastern Kenya open to Somali migrationThe Origins of the Galla and Somali. Further movement of Somalis into Kenya took place under the British,who transferred some clans like the Degodia and some Ogadeni sub-clans to Wajir district to graze alongside the long established Ajuran clanColonial Policies and the Failure of Somali Secessionism in the Northern Frontier Dustrict of the Kenya Colony. As such, They have historically inhabited the North Eastern Province, previously a part of the Northern Frontier District (NFD) which also included the present day Borana and Gabra inhabited Marsabit and Isiolo Counties. The NFD came into being in 1925, when it was carved out of the Somalia. [5] 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. [6] Britain retained control of the southern half of the territory, which was later called the Northern Frontier District. [5] [7]
On 26 June 1960, four days before granting British Somaliland independence, the British government declared that all Somali-inhabited areas of East Africa should be unified in one administrative region. However, after the dissolution of the former British colonies in the region, Britain granted administration of the Northern Frontier District to Kenyan nationalists. This was despite an informal plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the Somalis in Kenya population to join the newly formed Somali Republic, [8] and the fact that the NFD was almost exclusively inhabited by ethnic Somalis. [9] [10] [11] Nonetheless, the Somali residents had by then successfully lobbied for a separate classification from the adjacent Bantu and Nilotic populations. In the 1962 British Kenya census, the Somali expatriates were accorded their own "Somali" entry separate from the "African", "Arab", "Asian" and "European" designations. [12]
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. [13] 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 War. [14] Although the conflict ended in a cease-fire, 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]
Following the civil war in Somalia that broke out in 1991, many Somalis sought asylum in the Somali-inhabited enclaves in Kenya. An entrepreneurial community, they established themselves in the business sector, [17] investing over $1.5 billion in Eastleigh alone. [18] Starting in late 2012, a mass exodus of Somali residents was reported after a prolonged period of harassment by the Kenyan police and public. Hundreds of Somali entrepreneurs withdrew between Sh10 to Sh40 billion from their bank accounts, with the intention of reinvesting most of that money back home in Somalia. The collective departures most affected Eastleigh's real estate sector, as landlords struggled to find Kenyans able to afford the high rates of the apartments and shops vacated by the Somalis. [19]
A part of Eastern Africa, the territory of what is known as Kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic. The Bantu expansion from a West African centre of dispersal reached the area by the 1st millennium AD. With the borders of the modern state at the crossroads of the Bantu, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic ethno-linguistic areas of Africa, Kenya is a truly multi-ethnic state.
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.
The Kikuyu are a Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.
Greater Somalia is a concept to unite all ethnic Somalis comprising the regions in or near the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited. The territory historically encompassed British Jubaland Province, British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, parts of French Somaliland, the Somali Region in Ethiopia, the Northern Frontier District in Kenya, and the intra-46th meridian east territories. At the present, it encompasses Somalia proper, Jubaland, southern and eastern Djibouti, the Somali Region and Dire Dawa in Ethiopia, and the Garissa, Wajir and Mandera Counties in Kenya.
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 Wajir. The North Eastern Province was carved out of the then Northern Frontier District (NFD) prior to independence.
The Luo of Kenya and Tanzania are a Nilotic ethnic group native to western Kenya and the Mara Region of northern Tanzania in East Africa. The Luo are the fourth-largest ethnic group (10.65%) in Kenya, after the Kikuyu (17.13%), the Luhya (14.35%) and the Kalenjin (13.37%). The Tanzanian Luo population was estimated at 1.1 million in 2001 and 3.4 million in 2020. They are part of a larger group of related Luo peoples who inhabit an area ranging from South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, northern and eastern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and northern Tanzania.
The Rendille are a Cushitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the northern Eastern Province of Kenya.
The Garre are a prominent Somali clan that traces its lineage back to Samaale, who is believed to have originated from the Arabian Peninsula through Aqiil Abu Talib. The Garre clan is considered to be a sub-clan of the Digil-Rahanweynl clan family, which is part of the larger Rahanweyn clan. However, genealogically, they are descended from Gardheere Samaale. The Garre are also categorized as southern Hawiye as well.
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 Oromo clans. First and foremost they are pastoralists and almost all are Muslims. In 2019 the Orma numbered 158,993.
Eastleigh is a mixed-use neighbourhood in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located east of the central business district. It is known for its business prowess as well as "its poor infrastructure.
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 Somali Bantus are a Bantu ethnic minority group in Somalia who primarily reside in the southern part of the country, primarily near the Jubba and Shabelle rivers. The Somali Bantus are descendants of enslaved peoples from various Bantu ethnic groups from Southeast Africa, particularly from Mozambique, Malawi, and Tanzania. The East African slave trade was not eliminated until the early parts of the 20th century.
The North Frontier District (NFD), or Northern Frontier Province, 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.
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.
The Bimaal or Bimal, is a sub-clan of the major Dir clan family. This clan is widely known for leading a resistance against the colonials in southern Somalia for decades which can be -in a little way- compared to the war of the Sayyid in Somaliland. The Biimaal mainly lives in southern Somalia, the Somali region of Ethiopia, which their Gaadsen sub-clan mainly inhabits and in the NEP region of Kenya.
Ali Adan Lord (1915-1961) became the first Somali MP and later the Interior Minister of Kenya. As Interior Minister, Lord included along with Jomo Kenyatta the state delegation that went to Mogadishu during President Sharmaake’s term.
Kenya–Somalia relations are bilateral relations between Kenya and Somalia.
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.