This separation has its roots deep in Kenya’s past, in the creation of the Northern Frontier District by the colonial regime which was used as a buffer against hostile neighbors – an expansionist Abyssinian empire to the north and an unstable Juba land to the east. Governance of the Northern Frontier District was characterized by restrictions on movement, collective punishment, and the use of extensive non-accountable executive powers.
Northern Kenya displays many of the characteristics of remote rural areas caught in chronic
poverty traps, which face multiple and interlocking forms of disadvantage. Isolation, insecurity,
weak economic integration, limited political leverage, and a challenging natural environment combine to produce high levels of risk and vulnerability.
The highest rates of poverty are often observed among those who are no longer directly involved in pastoralism, particularly those without livestock who depend on casual labor or petty trade in towns.There are also significant social inequalities within the region, particularly with respect to the rights of women, lower castes and minority clans.
