Conflict sensitivity assessment in Marsabit county, Kenya

In 2023, International Alert researched existing and potential conflict risks and opportunities to build peace in Marsabit county, Kenya. The analysis examined the dynamics of communities and projects centred on fisheries and livestock.  

Through focus groups, interviews, and workshops, we worked with people based in the county, and specifically at Lake Turkana East, to identify common drivers of conflict.  

The concluding results show over 20 conflict hotspots in the area. The findings also reveal three primary types of conflicts: natural resources-based, ethnopolitical, and culturally driven.  

The leading causes included competition for grazing areas and water resources, disputes over administrative boundaries, competition for county positions and resources, and cultural practices.  

Institutional conflicts were also identified in the fisheries sector, primarily stemming from the exclusion of key stakeholders in the decision-making processes and disputes over the sharing of fishing equipment.