BACKGROUND OF NORTH EASTERN PROVINCE OF KENYA.

(Former Northern Frontier District)

Formerly known as Northern Frontier District. It boarders Somalia from the North of Kenya. Traveling from Nairobi through Thika town in Central Province and Mwingi Eastern Province, one might be tempted to believe that North Eastern Province, is not part of Kenya but Somalia. The Province has been abandoned by a succession of Kenya Governments since independence.

This beloved but forsaken barren land, otherwise known as Northern Frontier District, lies in the driest part of Kenya. To the British who ruled Kenya in the colonial era it was referred to as the barren land that was of no value to the Queen. Thus, subsequent Kenya’s independent regimes have ignored the region just as much as the colonialist did. This started with the isolation from the rest of Kenya by prohibitive colonial laws in 1902 and 1934. According to the Census of 1999 the Province is believed to have an overall population of 962, 143 with a possible ten percent error. The capital is Garissa town, and the land area is 126,902km, which is inhabited by pastoralist communities mainly the Somali tribe with relatives across the boarder. There are many Refugee camps along the Somali boarder (neighboring Country in the North). The climate is Arid and Semi-arid, yet the province is divided into four Administrative Districts namely, Garissa, Ijara, Wajir and Mandera. The literacy level is 6.4 percent of the female population and 29.5 percent of the male population. The Infrastructure is the poorest and life expectancy surprisingly is the highest in the Country at 62.2 years. Although livestock keeping is the main activity, the poverty level stands at 64 percent. With the introduction of modern means of transport, mode of transport in many parts of the region is mostly Camel, and Donkeys and the staple food for the communities remain meat and milk.

According to the Monthly Intelligence Report, Kenya Internal Security Committee and Northern Province Annual reports between 1958 and 1969, Britain advised Kenya to undertake long-term economic investment in the region to integrate the Nomadic Communities into the system. A call to which the 1950s Colonial leadership and subsequent Independence Kenyan leadership of the 1960s chose to ignore blindly. From the onset, colonialists regarded Northern Kenya, popularly by then referred to as Northern Frontier District (N.F.D) until March 1963 as “a barren land with no economic profit to her Majesty’s Government.” Their attitude towards the region could be summed up in the statement of Sir Charles Elliot who said in 1902 that the region was not “worth the money spent upon it”.

By then NFD or Northern Frontier District comprised six administrative districts: Garissa, Wajir, Mandera (today North Eastern Province) and Moyale, Marsabit, Isiolo. As stated before the region was isolated from the rest of Kenya by prohibitive laws passed by the Colonialists in 1902 and 1934. The laws restricted any movement of the locals entering or leaving their respective Districts. A part from restrictions that hindered their interaction, the region did not get basic services like education, water, health and infrastructure. Discontent became widespread among the residents and this was demonstrated in1955 when the region declined to be represented in the Kenyan Legislature by an individual who did not come from one of their own. The British policy in the region coupled with political activities in the Horn of Africa and the cold war between the West and East led to the demand by the region to secede from Kenya and unite with Somalia, which attained independence in 1960. Somalia meanwhile wasn’t happy that the Ogaden and Haud were given to Ethiopia by Colonial powers and was pushing to get back NFD. A new party, Northern Province People’s Progressive Party (NPPPP), was formed to demand that NFD should secede from Kenya and unite with Somalia.

According to reliable information, the then British Secretary of State for Colonial affairs, Reginald Mouldling, met with Ali Adan Lord, NFD Representative in the Legislative assembly, Chiefs and other Political leaders from NFD and agreed that the group should send representatives to present their secession case at the Lancaster Conference. After Ali Adan Lord’s death, Abdirashid Khalif NPPPP treasurer and an elder brother of former Wajir West Member of Parliament (MP), the lateAhmed Khalif became the new Legco member. He attended plenary sessions of the constitutional conference, Lancaster House in February 1962. The elder Khalif did not mince his words. He stated that he was neither from Kenya’s Political Parties KANU and KADU, stressing that he was a secessionist. Meanwhile leading figures from the region were in London to argue out their case for and against seceding from Kenya. NFD delegates hired two British counsels to push their case for secession and unity with Somalia on the principal of the right to self-determination.

The argument was to the fact that “NFD” people and their territory were similar to Somalia, while the rest of the country of Kenya was governed by African Native Courts. Theirs, the argument continued was based on their own traditional courts and code. The prohibitive “pass” system imposed on the region’s residents by the colonialists meant that NFD never was part of Kenya, according to their argument. Normally, one must agree with the reasoning because, being prohibited from traveling to other parts of the country meant not being part of Kenya and its citizenry. The consensus was that the British colonial master would conduct a referendum in NFD in order to determine the people’s wishes before Kenya’s independence. An independent commission was set up to collect public opinion regarding the future of the “NFD”. But Somalia was disappointed that no decision was taken by the colonialists.

The former British Somaliland Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal met with Kenyan leaders headed by Jomo Kenyatta of KANU and Ronald Ngala of KADU in Mogadishu City of Somalia in July 1962. By then ‘African Unity’ was top priority inspite of Somalia’s claim to ‘NFD’. Somalia through the Prime Minister.

Ali Sharmarke, said if the commission by Britain establishes that the people of ‘NFD’ have decided to remain in Kenya his Country would not object. On Kenyan side, Jomo Kenyatta stressed that Kenya regarded the people of ‘NFD’ as Kenyans who are brothers and sisters, and that the “NFD issue be treated with caution as a Kenyan affair.” My innocent question and I am sure yours too is this,” if true to that statement, NFD people were part of Kenya and brothers / sisters then why? And again why?, were they forced to poses the traveling pass within NFD and restricted from traveling to other Provinces in Kenya, before and early after independence? However, Somalia later changed its stand in August 1962 when they insisted that only Britain was to determine the future of the NFD. The appointment of the Independent Commission for NFD delayed after Britain created two other Commissions – one on Regional and the other on constituency’s delimitation. These Commissions were rejected by the people of NFD through their Leaders. No wonder Independence Kenyan Leaders continue to follow Colonial footsteps, by creating one Commission after another , whose results are either rejected like the Constitution Review Memorandum of 2005, or shelved many Commissions of Inquiry in Kenya have proved to be a source of income to the privileged few relatives and Politically correct individuals through duty allowances. Things didn’t go well as expected until October 22, 1962, when the Independent Commission on; NFD” started collecting views from the residents. Views on the NFD future were divided into two Kenya Opinions (those who believed and wished the region would remain in Kenya) and secondly Somalia Opinion (those who wanted the region to secede and unite with brothers and sister in Somalia). With the exception of Garissa where a few people voted Kenyan Opinion, the residents of Wajir and Mandera voted for Somalia Opinion overwhelmingly. For today’s upper Eastern provinces (not North Eastern province), three fifth (3/5) of the residents voted the Somalia Opinion but traditionalist, Borana voted Kenya Opinion. In Isiolo, where Somalia and Borana majority were Muslims overwhelmingly voted the Somalia Opinion. It was only in Marsabit that Borana traditionalists and Christians voted Kenyan Opinion. The Rendille and Elmolo, through their Chief, voted Somalia Opinion. Kenya opinion won in the District of Marsabit.                                           

DIVISION OF NFD IN TWO REGIONS  

Somalia officials maintained that the commission’s finding that 89% of the residents voted in favor of seceding from Kenya though the British Government declined to release official results. After that, episode, a regional Boundary Commission followed. It divided NFD into two regions. Garissa, Wajir and Mandera were placed under a new region which later became North Eastern Province. Isiolo, Marsabit and Moyale were placed under the current Eastern Province including outsiders: Meru, Embu and Ukambani. This is a system devised to divide and rule by the colonial master, later adopted by subsequent African regimes. This commission explained that it wasn’t within its terms of reference to declare the regions desire to secede although Britain kept the door open for secession. Due to feelings of being short-changed and that NFD’s future had been delayed. Somalia cut diplomatic ties with Britain in the year 1962. The Organization of African Unity Conference in May 1963, discussed the issue in Addis Ababa, where Ethiopia and Somalia clashed, Ugandan leader, Milton Obote said African boundary dispute should be solved by its own leaders, meanwhile in Kenya, 20 pro-secession leaders mainly from NPPPP were arrested and detained separately in Manyani in Voi and Kajiado. Detainees included Wako Happi of Isiolo, Alex Khokhole of Laisamis and Dheko Stambul of Garissa. This was followed by mass resignation of Chiefs and Political leaders who decided to boycott participation in Regional and General Elections in most of the region except in Western Districts of “NFD” like Isiolo, two KANU members backed by Meru and Turkana tribes, took part in the violence hit election which saw Joseph Lawi, a Meru elected to the Legislative assembly.

North Eastern Province was then placed under direct rule or administration of the colonial government while tension heightened in Isiolo following the assassination of the first African District Commissioner, Dabaso Dido, at Sericho by people believed to be well known to the authorities. The future of the NFD was arguably sealed at the Rome Conference of August 25, 1963, attended by Kenya, Somalia and British delegates.

Kenyan delegation includes Thomas Joseph Mboya, James Gicheru and Joseph Murumbi. Through the spokesman Mboya, Kenya made it clear that the future of “NFD” would be decided after Independence. Britain thought it wrong to take unilateral decision on NFD future without involvement of new Kenyan Government. They instead proposed future NFD issue be pursued by African leaders within African framework discussed before at Addis Ababa Conference. They further suggested that the new Kenya Government should prioritize development with well being of the regions residents after Independence. Another proposal from the colonial regime was an agreement to be sought peacefully and lawfully and not to take unilateral decisions on “NFDs” future. Somalia rejected this entire proposal and instead made new proposal including claim to the “NFD” territory. Later the conference ended in a deadlock, and parties left empty handed with Kenya and Ethiopia shocked when Sharmarky visited Russia and China. In the House of Commons, on November22, 1963, a few days before Kenya’s independence, the Colonial and Commonwealth Secretary, Duncan Sandy, said that there will be no “altering of Kenya’s frontier without the decision of the new Kenyan Government.

GUERILLA WAR AFTER THE MASSACRE OF THE BORANA D.C.

Guerilla war kicked off with widespread discontent among the residents of “NFD”. Glaring under development and widespread poverty of today in Northern Kenya can be traced to the policies of the Queen’s British Colonial Administration and Successive three Kenyan Independence Administrations (name it Governments). Due to the British policy and other state of emergency measures put in place after independence, especially during the 1963-1967 Shifta war, many people have suffered historical injustices, including human rights abuses and economic depreciation. Before independence, livestock was the economic mainstay but it suffered during the ruthless scotch-earth tactics adopted by the Kenyan military during the Shifta war of the 1960s. It is lamented that before independence in Kenya, the livestock economy was thriving and stable but soldiers shot animals at random and poisoned water points during the war. All education facilities were closed down by the colonial government until 1967. it was through the effort of Christian Missionaries that a few number of the locals like “Bonaya Godana” acquired education after the war. These efforts were concentrated in North Horr and Laisamis, areas which welcomed the Missionaries. As of today, Laisamis is the only unique Constituency without Government Health facility. It can be arguably (and positively) claimed that successive Governments of independent Kenya, have ignored the October 23, 1967, Arusha Accord, which recommended an affirmative action plan for the region in terms of development.

The trigger of the Guerilla war was non other than the ruthless killing of the Borana District Commissioner (D.C), which many people if not majority believed was carried out with express knowledge of Kenyan Government and the British to Divide Borana and Somali, who were agitating for secession. Before then there was a British military exercise undertaken named, “Operation Sharp Panga”, in 1963 March with more than 4000 troops meant to secure British interests in post-independence Kenya. A few days after independence in December 1963 Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta declared a state of emergency in “NFD” and deployed the military with parliament’s approval though Kenya Africa Democratic Union (K.A.D.U) initially opposed the move. There was counter insurgency in the entire region, and the Government moved to further restrict the movement of the nomads. Within Isiolo District, residents were put under fenced camps in Garba-Tulla, Merti, Madogashe and Isiolo town. The government undertook several military operations to defeat the pro-secessionists soldiers who were backed by Somalia. The military operations included” Operation Maliza Shifta-destroy bandits” “Operation Fagia Shifta- clear bandits “and “Operation Shambulia Sana-reinforce efforts”, between 1963 and 1967 when the war ended. This particular operation took the shape of “search and destroy” where troops specifically hunted down the rebels and their sympathizers in areas like Isiolo, Garba-Tula and Garissa. The usual use of guns after 1963 was replaced by use of explosives and landmine by both sides between 1965 and 1967. Records put overall deaths in the war-torn areas to more than 20,000 people. The war therefore ended in 1967, followed by the Arusha Conference of October 23, 1967 convened by President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. The conference was attended by Kenyatta and Somalia P.M Mohamed Ibrahim Egal. President Julius Nyarere (Tanzania) and Milton Obote (Uganda) were observers. The agreement was to suspend emergency regulations imposed on either sides of the boarders, restore diplomatic relations, economic and trade ties. Many Kenyans from the region fled to Somalia as refugees during the war. The first batches, dubbed returnees, including top officials of the political parties came back in the 1980s and 1990s. Today they are languishing in poverty and most of them are yet to acquire their national identification cards leave alone passports. The official requirement or demand is that you produce your grand parents and parents’ identity cards before you are issued with one. Some are over 70 years of age, and to make it worse, their age mates, friends and relatives died during the war.