Ethnic Mobilisation and Electoral Violence: The 2007-2008 Rift Valley Clashes in Kenya

Abstract

This paper examined the mechanisms through which ethnic identities were mobilised to produce organised violence in the Rift Valley region, focusing particularly on the clashes between Kalenjin, Kikuyu and Kisii communities. Drawing on an integrated theoretical framework combining elite manipulation theory, grievance-based mobilisation, and the ethnic security dilemma, this study analysed the 2007-2008 crisis as a case of deliberate political orchestration. This study employed a qualitative case study methodology. It also adopted an interpretivist epistemological stance. The study relied on multiple secondary data sources to triangulate findings and ensure analytical rigour. Primary sources included official reports from investigative bodies. The analysis employed thematic coding based on the theoretical framework. Data sources were systematically examined for evidence related. Process tracing methodology guides the causal analysis. The research showed that political elites manipulated historical land grievances from colonial displacement and post-independence settlement patterns to justify violence as a legitimate reclamation of ancestral territories. Local leaders and opposition officials facilitated this violence by distributing resources, inciting through vernacular media, and mobilizing youth militias, while institutional failures, such as police complicity and impunity for past violence, enabled widespread mobilization. The paper contributes to ethnic conflict theory by demonstrating how material grievances (land disputes) interact with symbolic ethnic boundaries and elite manipulation in contexts of electoral competition. Policy implications emphasise the critical importance of land reform, transitional justice, electoral system redesign, and early warning mechanisms in preventing recurrent ethnic mobilisation.