The position of Kenyan Somalis is, to speak in Yiftachel terms, situated in gray spaces, between the whiteness of legality or approval, and the blackness of eviction or destruction. In the last decade, the government has slowly become more attentive to this region, for instance by the establishment of a Ministry of Northern Kenya and other Arid Areas in 2008.Footnote35 In addition, in 2009, the LAPSSET (Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport) project was announced, aiming at the creation of a infrastructure network linking the northern regions to central Kenya and therefore ideally becoming a means through which northerners could be drawn into the nation proper.Footnote36, The immigration of Somalian refugees enabled more contacts between Kenyan Somalis and Somalians, yet it also led Kenyan Somalis to realign questions of Kenyanness and belonging. Since Kenyas independence in 1963, the question of how to incorporate the heterogenous parts of its society has been a vital issue. This perception was not only linked to a feeling of cultural proximity, but also to personal contacts which are often clan-centred. Although some of these instruments potentially open new spaces for the socio-political involvement of the Somali inhabitants of Kenya, those spaces are constricted by securitization discourses persistent othering of Kenyas Somali communities. The widespread use of rape in Ogaden has . Kenya was, after Somalia, the second largest recipient of US-American anti-terrorism funds in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2013 and 2015. http://securityassistance.org/data/country/military/country/2011/2018/is_all/Africa [accessed 14 March 2017]. 78. [2] . This paper deals with the way a politics of belonging has been enacted in recent years in Kenya, and what this means for the Somali population of the country. This paper is based on research into the interlinkages of different groups of ethnic Somalis in Kenyan urban centres, using the example of Nakuru, the fourth biggest city of Kenya (and to some extent Nairobi and Mombasa). Interview with Mzee Jamal, November 2010. It is Kenya that does not want Somalis in Kenya.Footnote10, Even in colonial times, the Somali population of British East Africa was treated differently from other inhabitants. 99. 13. In the multi-ethnic state of Kenya, many are subjected to this ambiguous citizenship: Asians, white Kenyans, Nubians, or Arabs. Who this term refers to, and if it means insider or outsider, depends on the circumstances.Footnote109 The diverse images of Somalis in Kenya, resulting from different historical trajectories, are aggregated in a meta-image of the ambiguous citizen. Kenyas Somalis, however, occupy the most ambiguous situation of all. 31. )methane emissions: 37.65 megatons (2020 est. ), $11.825 billion (2021 est.) 15. She was curious about him and argued that the good thing about him was that he came from the country of her father: from home, from Somalia. With access to education, healthcare, and technology, Kenya is poised for exponential growth. McIntosh argues that one way for white Kenyans to claim Kenyanness is to appeal to a cosmopolitan ideal, a civic nationalism, in which all groups invested in the nation are equally welcome.Footnote113 As it was shown, the citizen-making instruments of the state in the last decade discussed with taking the example of the census and the elections reflect in content and usage the imagination of Kenya as a nation of diversity. This notion laid the basis for rendering all Kenyan Somalis as non-native Africans after independence.Footnote81 In the late 1990s and early 2000s Somali Members of Parliament spoke about a policy of apartheid and of biological nationalism.Footnote82 The only other group having such an in-between status are Nubians,Footnote83 who have to go through a similar vetting process when applying for national identification documents, which includes not only the presentation of numerous documents (such as parents birth certificates), but also the recognition by a chief to indeed belong to the local community.Footnote84, The racial component also plays out in the daily life of Kenyan Somalis. Afrobarometer Data, Kenya, R3R7, 2005/062016/18. Kenyans has humiliated our people in Kenya. Balaton-Chrimes, Counting as Citizens, 215. 54. The post-election violence of 20072008, during which more than 1,000 Kenyans died and more than 300,000 were displaced, resulted in heightened perceptions to rebuild the country as a nation of diversity. In 1884, the British declared that the Ogaden region belonged to Ethiopia, but Kenya refused to recognize this decision. )note: data are in 2017 dollars, 6.11% (2021 est. In the colonial classification, urbanized alien Somalis neither counted as European, nor as truly Asian or as clearly African, but as something in between, not fitting the categories. Campbell, Urban Refugees in Nairobi, 401. )53.2% of GDP (2016 est. These clashes revived the discussion over what it means to be Kenyan, yet who is imagined as belonging to the nation, and to what degree, remains a situational matter. In 1993, a Somali parliamentarian narrated a justification he was given by the Principal Immigration officer after Somalis were barred from entering the passport-issuing office: A Somali, whether from Somalia or from Kenya, is a Somali because mtoto wa nyoka ni nyoka [The child of a snake is a snake].Footnote110 These processes of inclusion and exclusion can take place almost simultaneously. 68. In the multi-ethnic state of Kenya, there are other groups as well who are ambiguous citizens including Asians, Whites, Nubians and Arabs for whom two main dimensions along which Kenyanness is constructed come into the foreground: a racial dimension and a cultural dimension. 86. In the third part of the paper, I discuss how the two dimensions important for the notion of Kenyanness race and cultural citizenship play out for the Somali citizens of the state. Political competition linked to the re-introduction of multi-party politics as well as tensions between local communities and refugees over environmental degradation, jobs, and access to servicesFootnote34 led to several violent conflicts. The Ogaden was one of these and the two others were Djibouti and the Northern Frontier District in Kenya. 14. 80. )industry: 17.8% (2017 est. ), total: 11.1% (2020 est. There are 18 countries and 2 dependencies in East Africa. Aminas story makes visible the relevance of family ties linking Somalia and Kenya. Nobody questions the connection of Kenyan Somalis to the soil of the northeastern region, where most of them live: what is disputed is the question of whether or not this makes them Kenyan. the song Narudi nyumbani/coming home by Nameless, written in 2010 as a tribute to Kenyan sportspeople who represent (their) nation), advertisements (such as Niko na Safaricom/I have Safaricom, a mobile network operator in Kenya) and TV shows.Footnote43 Furthermore, the idea was at the core of civil society initiatives. )proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Lewis, The Ogaden, 578; But cf. Daily Nation, Kenya Vows to Appeal Verdict Blocking Dadaab Camp Closure, 9 February 2017. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/High-Court-cancels-closure-of-Dabaab/1056-3806030-7enmgdz/index.html; Daily Nation, Weve to Shut Dadaab for Security, Uhuru Kenyatta Tells UN, 8 March 2017. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/-Dadaab-Uhuru-Kenyatta-UN-Antonio-Guterres/1056-3841890-2qvff6z/index.html. The Swahili language is widely used as a means of communication in several East African countries. )percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2009 est. Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic. In 2013, presidential elections coincided with the new county-level elections, intensifying this feature of Kenya politics. administered Somali territories of northern Kenya and Somaliland. Both of his parents come from families urbanized during colonial times. )crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est. See for instance, Soysal, Limits of Citizenship; Al-Sharmani and Horst, Marginal Actors?. [9] History [ edit] Pre-colonial era [ edit] IEBC, Post-election Evaluation Report, 72. )female: 2.7% (2020 est. Ambiguous citizenship, as a concept, not only hints at the changing politics of the Kenyan state concerning its Somali citizens and the manifold ways in which Kenyan Somalis react to it, but it also takes into consideration the various roles Kenyan Somalis play in society. In 1977, the Somalia National. By 2050, this number is forecast to almost double, and the country will be home to some 92.6. )hydroelectricity: 32.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est. In Ogaden, there is no protection from rape and sexual assault of women and girls. The Ogaden War 1977-78 In Kenya, Mogadishu merely supported local armed groups to further its irredentist ambitions, but in Ethiopia, it launched a full-scale war. The region has an overall low population density and is home to Somali-speaking nomadic pastoralists. ), revenues: $16.885 billion (2019 est. By around the 9th century, the mix of Africans, Arabs, and Persians who lived and traded there became known as Swahili ("people of the coast") with a distinct language (KiSwahili) and culture. )investment in inventories: -1% (2017 est. Ogden is a city located in Weber County Utah.It is also the county seat of Weber County.With a 2023 population of 86,942, it is the 8th largest city in Utah and the 399th largest city in the United States. 50. www.knbs.or.ke/index.php?Option=com_content&view=article&id=151:ethnic-affiliation&catid=112&Itemid=638 [accessed 17 July 2015]. The ambiguousness of citizenship for Kenyan Somalis was complicated further in the 1990s, with the increasing number of Somalian refugees in Kenya.Footnote29 While this number officially includes only those registered as refugees, many more Somalians live outside the camps in the northeastern region as well as in Kenyan urban centres.Footnote30 From the early 1990s onwards, anti-refugee sentiments were aimed at Somalians. 113. The changed mode of the presidential election also introduced new competitive elements. The movement of people from Somalia to Kenya intensified at the end of the 1980s, resulting in new efforts to distinguish citizens from non-citizens. 28. Changes in identification over time are also indicated by the Afrobarometer data concerning ethnic versus national identification. Cheesman et al., Decentralisation in Kenya, 15. 91. 11. See Registration of Persons Act (Laws of Kenya), Revised Edition 2015, paragraphs 6, 9 and 14. The first part of the paper gives a short historical overview of the socio-political position of the Somali population of Kenya, while the second part deals with three of the states citizen-making instruments crucial over the last decade: the census of 2009, the elections of 2013, and the move towards securitization since 2013, following terrorist attacks on Kenyan soil. Talking Peace in the Ogaden. )imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est. In 1890, Germany and the UK divided up the region, with the UK taking the north and the Germans the south, including present-day Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda. ), conventional long form: Republic of Kenyaconventional short form: Kenyalocal long form: Republic of Kenya (English)/ Jamhuri ya Kenya (Swahili)local short form: Kenyaformer: British East Africaetymology: named for Mount Kenya; the meaning of the name is unclear but may derive from the Kikuyu, Embu, and Kamba words "kirinyaga," "kirenyaa," and "kiinyaa" - all of which mean "God's resting place", name: Nairobigeographic coordinates: 1 17 S, 36 49 Etime difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)etymology: the name derives from the Maasai expression meaning "cool waters" and refers to a cold water stream that flowed through the area in the late 19th century, 47 counties; Baringo, Bomet, Bungoma, Busia, Elgeyo/Marakwet, Embu, Garissa, Homa Bay, Isiolo, Kajiado, Kakamega, Kericho, Kiambu, Kilifi, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Kisumu, Kitui, Kwale, Laikipia, Lamu, Machakos, Makueni, Mandera, Marsabit, Meru, Migori, Mombasa, Murang'a, Nairobi City, Nakuru, Nandi, Narok, Nyamira, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Samburu, Siaya, Taita/Taveta, Tana River, Tharaka-Nithi, Trans Nzoia, Turkana, Uasin Gishu, Vihiga, Wajir, West Pokot, Jamhuri Day (Independence Day), 12 December (1963); note - Madaraka Day, 1 June (1963) marks the day Kenya attained internal self-rule, history: current constitution passed by referendum on 4 August 2010amendments: amendments can be proposed by either house of Parliament or by petition of at least one million eligible voters; passage of amendments by Parliament requires approval by at least two-thirds majority vote of both houses in each of two readings, approval in a referendum by majority of votes cast by at least 20% of eligible voters in at least one half of Kenyas counties, and approval by the president; passage of amendments introduced by petition requires approval by a majority of county assemblies, approval by majority vote of both houses, and approval by the president, mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; judicial review in the new Supreme Court established by the new constitution, accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction, citizenship by birth: nocitizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Kenyadual citizenship recognized: yesresidency requirement for naturalization: 4 out of the previous 7 years, chief of state: President William RUTO (since 13 September 2022); note - the president is both chief of state and head of governmenthead of government: President William RUTO (since 13 September 2022)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, subject to confirmation by the National Assemblyelections/appointments: president and deputy president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); in addition to receiving an absolute majority popular vote, the presidential candidate must also win at least 25% of the votes cast in at least 24 of the 47 counties to avoid a runoff; election last held on 9 August 2022 (next to be held in 2027)election results: 2017: Uhuru KENYATTA reelected president; percent of vote - Uhuru KENYATTA (Jubilee Party) 98.3%, Raila ODINGA (ODM) 1%, other 0.7%; note - Kenya held a previous presidential election on 8 August 2017, but Kenya's Supreme Court on 1 September 2017 nullified the results, citing irregularities; the political opposition boycotted the October vote2013: Uhuru KENYATTA elected president in first round; percent of vote - Uhuru KENYATTA (TNA) 50.1%, Raila ODINGA (ODM) 43.7%, Musalia MUDAVADI (UDF) 4.0%, other 2.2%, description: bicameral Parliament consists of:Senate (68 seats; 47 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 20 directly elected by proportional representation vote - 16 women, 2 representing youth, 2 representing the disabled, and one Senate speaker; members serve 5-year terms)National Assembly (350 seats; 290 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 47 women in single-seat constituencies elected by simple majority vote, and 12 members nominated by the National Assembly - 6 representing youth and 6 representing the disabled, and one Assembly speaker; members serve 5-year terms)elections: Senate - last held on 9 August 2022 (next to be held in August 2027)National Assembly - last held on 9 August 2022 (next to be held in August 2027)election results: Senate - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - Kenya Kwanza 34; Azimio La Umoja 33; composition - men 47, women 21, percent of women is 31%National Assembly - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - Azimio La Umoja 173, Kenya Kwanza 161, independent 12, other 3; composition - men 275, women 75, percent of women 21.4%; note - total Parliament percent of women 23%, highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of chief and deputy chief justices and 5 judges)judge selection and term of office: chief and deputy chief justices nominated by Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and appointed by the president with approval of the National Assembly; other judges nominated by the JSC and appointed by president; chief justice serves a nonrenewable 10-year term or until age 70, whichever comes first; other judges serve until age 70subordinate courts: High Court; Court of Appeal; military courts; magistrates' courts; religious courts, Azimio La UmojaOne Kenya Coalition Party [Raila ODINGA] (includes DAP-K, JP, KANU, KUP, MCC, MDG, ODM, PAA, UDM, UDP, UPA, UPIA, and WDM-K)Amani National Congress or ANC [Musalia MUDAVADI]Chama Cha Kazi or CCK [Moses KURIA]Democratic Action Party or DAP-K [Wafula WAMUNYINYI]Democratic Party or DP [Joseph MUNYAO, Chairman]Forum for the Restoration of DemocracyKenya or FORD-Kenya [Moses WETANGULA]Grand Dream Development Party or GDDP [Fabian KYULE]IndependentsJubilee Party or JP [Uhuru KENYATTA]Kenya African National Union or KANU [Gideon MOI]Kenya Kwanza coalition [William RUTO] (includes ANC, CCK, DP, FORD-Kenya, TSP, and UDA)Kenya Union Party or KUP [John LONYANGAPUO]Maendeleo Chap Chap Party or MCC [Alfred MUTUA]Movement for Democracy and Growth or MDG [David OCHIENG]National Agenda Party or NAP-K [Alfayo AGUFANA]National Ordinary People Empowerment Union or NOPEU [Rodgers MPURU, Secretary General}Orange Democratic Movement or ODM [Raila ODINGA]Pamoja African Alliance or PAA [Amason KINGI]The Service Party or TSP [Mwangi KIUNJURI]United Democratic Alliance or UDA [William RUTO]United Democratic Movement or UDM [Philip MURGOR]United Democratic Party or UDP [Cyrus Jirongo]United Party of Independent Alliance or UPIA [Ukur YATANI]United Progressive Alliance or UPA [Kenneth NYAMWAMU]Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya or WDM-K [Kalonzo MUSYOKA]note: only parties with seats in the National Assembly and Senate included , ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, C, CD, COMESA, EAC, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCT, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WMO, WTO, chief of mission: Ambassador Lazarus Ombai AMAYO (since 17 July 2020)chancery: 1616 P Street NW, Suite 340, Washington, DC 20036telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829email address and website: information@kenyaembassydc.orghttps://kenyaembassydc.org/#consulate(s) general: Los Angelesconsulate(s): New York, chief of mission: Ambassador Margaret "Meg" WHITMAN (since 5 August 2022)embassy: P.O. 106. )refined petroleum consumption: 116,400 bbl/day (2019 est. Somali Entrepreneurs in Kenya Have Transformed the Informal Retail Economy in Substantive Ways, MPI for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, in Association with Cityscapes Magazine, Territorializing Ethnicity: the Imposition of a Model of Statehood on Pastoralists in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia. Both of them, as good Muslims, did not go out to bars, but instead played video games in the evening and enjoyed Somali music. 65 In 1948 and 1962 enumeration in Northern Province was not done by household because of sparse population and logistical difficulties. 5. )$4,500 (2020 est. While she had never before mentioned Somalia, one day she told me that a friend of the family was stopping by more frequently in the last time and it seemed he just wanted to see her. Turton, The Isaq Somali Diaspora, 327. Fellow Kenyan Somalis label them siju(i),Footnote105 in the same way as Somalians categorize all Kenyan Somalis as neither knowing Somali language nor culture. 49. 73. ), exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies: due to drought conditions - about 4.4 million people were projected to be severely acutely food insecure between October and December 2022 reflecting consecutive poor rainy seasons since late 2020 that affected crop and livestock production; prices of maize are at high levels across the country due to reduced availabilities and high fuel prices inflating production and transportation costs (2023), municipal solid waste generated annually: 5,595,099 tons (2010 est. )permanent pasture: 37.4% (2018 est. around Kismayo) are much more exposed to Al Shabaab than the others. ), electrification - total population: 85% (2019)electrification - urban areas: 99% (2019)electrification - rural areas: 79% (2019), installed generating capacity: 3.304 million kW (2020 est. Despite the project developing very slowly and the envisioned wall having mutated into a fence,Footnote76 this structure could have effects on the living conditions for Kenyan Somalis inhabiting the northeastern region, many of whom still earn their living through pastoralism. This paper deals with the way the politics of belonging have been enacted in Kenya in the last decade and what this has meant for Kenyan Somalis. )forest: 6.1% (2018 est. See Balaton-Chrimes, Counting as Citizen.. )$234.438 billion (2019 est. Together, these attacks claimed over 400 lives.Footnote68 The attackers persistently targeted non-Muslims, and claimed that they were reacting to non-Muslim occupation of Muslim territory. But it is not that Kenyan Somalis dont want to be part of Kenya. While she described the first and the third group as being closed, she depicted Kenyan Somalis as open. Targets included police structures, nightclubs and bars, churches, but also buses and bus stations. 112. Many urbanized Somalis did not see their future in Kenya and moved to Europe in the 1990s and 2000s. Kenyan Somalis are not the only ambiguous citizens of Kenya. They also inhabit Somalia's major cities such as Mogadishu and Kismayo. 38. 16. )crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est. note: data are in current year dollars$9.709 billion (2020 est.) The only exception from this pattern in Nakuru was a Muslim youth group in which Amina was participating: its all-Somali members, who had met in school, came from Somalia as well as from Kenya (and here from the urban areas as well as from the northeastern part of the country). Whittaker, A New Model Village, 120. Similar living experiences can also result from internal migration, often for educational reasons or because of work. )$25.706 billion (2018 est. This was the time when economic and political developments in Somalia had begun to look more promising than before.Footnote107 Just a short while before she had told me that there were three groups of Somalis in Nakuru: those from Somalia, those from Kenya, and returnees. )consumption: 821,000 metric tons (2020 est. 53. 21. Lochery, Rendering Difference Visible, 616. While they have been treated as ambiguous citizens since independence, many think of themselves as Kenyans and at least in the last decade, Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland have not been central points of reference for many. ), 17.709 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est. In the case of Kenyan SomalisFootnote1 the notion of belonging has been put into question time and again, not only due to the post-independence secession movement in the mainly Somali areas in the northeast, but also because of the perception of Somalis as pastoralists or immigrants. note: data are in current year dollars$17.717 billion (2020 est.) 41. )103.41 (2017 est. )percent of population: 29% (2021 est. Ogaden STATISTICS Status: Ethnic Minority Areas: 327,068 km2 Population: 4,439,147 (2007 Census) Languages: Somali (95.9%), Oromifa (2.24%), Amharic (0.92%) and Gurage (0.033%) Religion: Muslim (98.4%), Orthodox Christian (0.6%) and 1% others East Africa is the most populous subregion of Africa, with a population of approximately 455 million people. Amina, a young woman in her early 20s, was born in Nakuru. They were not only associated with insecurity and later terrorism, but also to perceptions that refugees were a burden who took away commercial opportunities from Kenyans.Footnote31 There were also widespread accusations that they acquired Kenyan passports illegally. )expenditures: $24.271 billion (2019 est. 94. Simultaneously, Islam can serve as a means for claiming entitlement for higher positions in Kenyan society, a significant argument in consideration of actors with an overtly Christian commitment standing at the core of Kenyan politics. 6. HRW, Death and Disappearances, 1213. Abdullahi left Nakuru immediately after recovering and started a new life in Nairobi. N. Rugene and D. Kalinaki, Abdul Hajis Mission to Rescue Brother Blessing for Westgate Hostages. Daily Nation, 25 September 2013. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/How-Abdul-Haji-rescued-Westgate-hostages/1056-2007316-5ol57g/index.html. ), -$5.744 billion (2021 est. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Fact Sheet, Kenya (01-31 December 2017). )exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est. 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG. ), English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languagesmajor-language sample(s): The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. The Ogaden is a plateau, with an elevation above sea level that ranges from 1,500 metres in the northwest, falling to about 300 metres along the southern limits and the Wabi Shebelle valley. )106.451 (2020 est. Janet McIntosh argues in her article about white citizens of Kenya, who, similar to Kenyan Somalis, have a conspicuous minority status, that even though the Kenyan government stated that all Kenyans are indigenous,Footnote80 this phrase implicitly only refers to Kenyans of African descent, linking national belonging to race. Ambiguous citizens: Kenyan Somalis and . Making citizens in Kenya after the post-election violence of 20072008, Race and cultural citizenship as two dimensions of Kenyanness, Conclusion: Kenyan Somalis and the question of belonging, http://www.unhcr.org/ke/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/01/Kenya-Operation-Factsheet-December-2017-.pdf, http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Kenyan-Somalis-treated-like-second-class-citizens-/440808-2277348-pj74alz/index.html, http://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/lifestyle/Echoes-of-nationhood-in-the-Silent-Room/1214-3046604-shee9bz/index.html, http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Census-data-on-Kenyan-Asians-raises-more-questions-than-answers-/440808-1004396-v1yqaw/index.html, www.knbs.or.ke/index.php?Option=com_content&view=article&id=151:ethnic-affiliation&catid=112&Itemid=638, http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Letters/440806-639674-8crbl7z/index.html, http://www.nation.co.ke/news/How-North-Eastern-figures-went-wrong-/1056-1001530-1d3tow/index.html, http://www.nation.co.ke/news/High-Court-cancels-closure-of-Dabaab/1056-3806030-7enmgdz/index.html, http://www.nation.co.ke/news/-Dadaab-Uhuru-Kenyatta-UN-Antonio-Guterres/1056-3841890-2qvff6z/index.html, http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/mandera/Kenya-Somalia-border-fence/1183298-3472166-hyn3f6z/, http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Security-laws-illegal-declares-High-Court/1064-2633342-jw2qp1/index.html, http://securityassistance.org/data/country/military/country/2011/2018/is_all/Africa, http://www.nation.co.ke/news/How-Abdul-Haji-rescued-Westgate-hostages/1056-2007316-5ol57g/index.html, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/kenya0716web_1.pdf, https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/insult_to_injury.pdf. I argue that many Kenyan Somalis are ready to take this possibility up, if they have the chance to do so. Islam is also one of the elements dividing Kenyan Somalis from the Christian majority. Meanwhile, the situation in neighbouring Somalia worsened, starting with the Ogaden war (1977-1978). But counting ethnic affiliation also created opportunities for the negotiation of belonging to Kenya. One of the candidates, William Ruto, campaigned as a fellow pastoralist, suggesting that he and the northern voters should bring their herds together in the quest for northern development.Footnote91, McIntosh stated that whites in Kenya do not fit the stereotype of the wenyeji, a Kiswahili term invoking local inhabitants whocan take for granted cultural citizenship in the nation as a whole.Footnote92 She shows several strategies used by white Kenyans to underline their belonging to Kenya one of them consists of stressing their cultural citizenship, for instance by having attended Kenyan schools.Footnote93. 102. ), improved: urban: 91.3% of populationrural: 63.3% of populationtotal: 71.2% of populationunimproved: urban: 8.7% of populationrural: 36.7% of populationtotal: 28.8% of population (2020 est. Letter by B. Jommo, Cross-ethnic and Proud of Ourselves, Daily Nation, 14 August 2009. http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Letters/440806-639674-8crbl7z/index.html. 77. 108. Precursors of this paper were presented at the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies in December 2013 and the Somali Studies Conference in Helsinki in 2015. . All Somalis were required to register and to prove their belonging, consolidating their position as ambiguous citizens.Footnote17 The various counterinsurgency measures taken by the Kenyan state had severe economic impacts and to this day, the northeastern region remains one of the least developed, producing a dual exclusion of both the region and its people,Footnote18 with the regular internal checkpoint in Garissa still resembling a border station to Kenya for many Somalis.Footnote19, Outside of the northeastern region, urbanized Kenyan Somalis also felt marginalized: they were not only held responsible for the secessionist movement, but also lost the socio-economic status they had occupied in pre-independence society.