The Impact of Ethnic Geography Established in Colonial Kenya on Politics Post-Independence

Many colonized nations post-independence struggle to maintain a political system representative of the majority of its people and instead consolidates power and resources to a select few. Kenya in particular has struggled with this, as they have been independent of British rule since 1963 yet have been unable to maintain an effective multi-party democratic system. Much of Kenya’s political turmoil comes from tensions amongst various ethnic groups as they fight to obtain access to power and resources for their specific groups. These tensions between ethnic groups can be traced back to British colonial rule as Britain initially divided the region into distinct districts giving groups of people tribal identities based on their location. While this style of rule mostly benefited European settlers, some tribal groups would benefit more than others based on their location and access to resources. This paper will look at how this system which consolidated power to a select few, would have lasting effects in Kenyan politics and result in a struggle to maintain an effective multi-party democracy.