A History of Ethnic Conflicts and Peacebuilding Processes Involving the Maasai and the Gusii of Kenya, 1890-2002

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

© 2025 by SSRG - IJHSS Journal

Volume 12 Issue 2

Year of Publication : 2025

Authors : Jackson Ondong’a Maranga

10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V12I2P106

How to Cite?

Jackson Ondong’a Maranga, "A History of Ethnic Conflicts and Peacebuilding Processes Involving the Maasai and the Gusii of Kenya, 1890-2002," SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 12,  no. 2, pp. 52-59, 2025. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V12I2P106

Abstract:

This paper aims to solve two research questions that are related yet distinct within the field of academia. The first is on ethnic conflicts, and the second is on peacebuilding. The first one is that there were a lot of ethnic tensions in Kenya after multiparty democracy had been restored in the early 1990s. Therefore, these politically instigated ethnic conflicts have been the subject of many studies to the extent that other disputes, such as those that occurred earlier than the 1990s, have been left out of research. This study raises the problem of ethnic conflicts in Kenya being more politically induced and relatively new in Kenyan social history. As a foundational assumption of this proposed study, it is self-evident that ethnic conflicts and peacebuilding processes in Kenya can be dated back to the pre-colonial period. The other concern that animates this study problem is the tendency to promote external peacebuilding initiatives while neglecting internal peacebuilding processes. This study presupposes that homegrown peacebuilding practices existed as early as the interethnic conflicts among the ethnic groups in Kenya. In this regard, the author of this study contributes to the existing literature on the history of Kenya.

Keywords:

Ethnic conflicts, Peacebuilding, Maasai, Gusii, Kenya.

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