University of Nairobi, Department of History and Archaeology. CONFLICT AND COOPERATION IN SOUTHWESTERN KENYA: A CASE OF KURIA-MAASAI RELATIONS, 1979-2010. Maisori Christine Boke C50/89178/2016 Supervisors: Dr. Kenneth S. Ombongi Dr. Herbert Misigo Amatsimbi MA Research project submitted in partial fulfilment of a master’s degree in Armed Conflict and Peace Studies, Department of History, University of Nairobi, 2019. DECLARATION This is my original work and has not been submitted for an award of a degree either in this University or any other institution. Signed _____________________________ Date ________________________ Maisori Christine Boke C50/89178/2016 This project is submitted for examination with our approval as University supervisors. Dr. Kenneth S. Ombongi Signed _____________________________ Date ________________________ Dr. Herbert Misigo Amatsimbi Signed _____________________________ Date ________________________ ii DEDICATION Dedicated to my beloved mother Robi Chacha Maisori and My late Father Mzee Maisori Itumbo. iii ACKNOWLWDGEMENT My Sincere gratitude goes to The University of Nairobi for believing in my potential and granting me the scholarship opportunity to pursue my master’s degree. Special thanks to my supervisors Dr. Kenneth S. Ombongi and Dr. Herbert Amatsimbi Misigo for their academic guidance and mentorship. To Mr. David Masika, thank you for the endless support, and academic criticism which challenged me to do better. I thank my family members for your unrelenting support. Thanks to my parents for your motivation and prayers throughout my studies. Sincere gratitude to my husband for your understanding, and support. May God bless you all! iv ABSTRACT The twentieth century experienced an intensification of intercommunity relations between agro- pastoral and pastoral communities in East Africa. These relations were influenced by different factors. For instance, community identity, culture and livelihoods of communities considerably informed their relations. This research focused on the Kuria-Maasai relations which were influenced by various factors and characterized by conflict and cooperation. Shared cultural practices, retaliatory cattle raids, conflict over land, which had roots in the pre-colonial era. In the post-colonial era, the binary of conflict and cooperation was characterized by commercialized cattle raids, and land conflicts following the 1979 massive small arms proliferation to the South western Kenya. In the year 2010 the Kuria-Maasai conflict heightened and triggered government interventions. However, more significantly, the acquisition of small arms provided a continuity of the binary of conflict and cooperation without necessarily changing their relations. This study applied the protracted social conflict theory and the bargaining theory of war which brought out the protracted nature of the Kuria-Maasai conflict and mechanisms in which the Kuria and Maasai communities attempted to unite and coexist. The research relied on sources such as books, scholarly articles, archival materials, and oral sources of information. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLWDGEMENT ............................................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... v MAP SHOWING THE AREA OF STUDY (TRANSMARA BORDER) .................................... ix OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS ................................................................................ x CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ............................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem .......................................................................................... 4 1.3 Objectives of the study.............................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Justification of the study ........................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Scope and Limitation ................................................................................................................ 6 1.6 Review of Literature ................................................................................................................. 7 1.6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 7 1.6.2 Literature on the Kuria and Maasai communities .............................................................. 7 1.6.3 Literature on factors influencing intercommunity relations ............................................... 9 1.7 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................... 12 1.8 Research Hypothesis ............................................................................................................... 14 1.9 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER TWO: DETERMINANTS OF KURIA-MAASAI RELATIONS PRIOR TO 1979.............................................................................................................. 18 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 18 2.2 The Concept of Intercommunity relations .............................................................................. 19 2.3 The Kuria and Maasai People ................................................................................................. 19 2.4 Making sense of Visible Identities .......................................................................................... 27 2.5 Sources of Conflict and cooperation in the colonial period .................................................... 31 2.6 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 38 CHAPTER THREE: THE CHANGING NATURE OF THE KURIA MAASAI RELATIONS IN THE TRANSMARA BORDER, 1979-2010 .......... 39 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 39 3.2 Arms Proliferation .................................................................................................................. 39 3.3 Factors Influencing Arms proliferation into the Trans-Mara border. ..................................... 41 vi 3.5 Markets of the Kuria-Maasai Conflict .................................................................................... 46 3.5.1 Commercialization of Cattle’s raiding ................................................................................. 46 3.5.2 Formation of Sungusungu. ............................................................................................... 54 3.6 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 59 CHAPTER 4: KURIA-MAASAI COOPERATION UPTO 2010 .......................................... 60 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 60 4.2 Framing Inter-Community Cooperation ................................................................................. 60 4.3 Shared Social Amenities ......................................................................................................... 62 4.3.1 Religious Institutions ........................................................................................................... 62 4.3.2 The Impact of Mission activities in Different parts of Kenya.......................................... 64 4.3.3 Education, Religion and Health Facilities as a front of Cooperation ............................... 67 4.4 Shared Ecological Zones ......................................................................................................... 70 4.5 Trade ....................................................................................................................................... 72 4.6 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 75 CHAPTER FIVE: KURIA-MAASAI PEACE INITIATIVES UP TO 2010 ........................ 77 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 77 5.2 Towards an understanding of Peace Initiatives ...................................................................... 77 5.3 Traditional Kuria-Maasai Peace Initiatives ............................................................................ 80 5.3.1 The Council of elders ....................................................................................................... 81 5.3.2 Rituals between the Kuria and