TITLE:
Ethnic Conflict and Insecurity in the Sondu Town Area at the Border of Kericho and Kisumu Counties, Kenya
AUTHORS:
Ong’ondo Mathews Odero, Omboto John Onyango
KEYWORDS:
Factors Responsible for Ethnic Conflict, Forms of Insecurity, Control Mechanisms, Sondu Town-Area, Kenya
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.4,
April
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: The border along Kericho and Kisumu counties has been a constant flashpoint of insecurity, arising from perennial ethnic conflict between the Kipsigis and Luo tribes. The primary objective of the study was to establish the causes of ethnic conflict and how it affects security in the Sondu area, situated along the border of Kisumu and Kericho counties, Kenya. The study, which was anchored on the Instrumentalist Theory of Ethnicity, adopted a mixed methods research design. It had a sample size of 367 respondents, comprising household heads, key informants, and focus group. Data was collected using questionnaires, a focus group discussion guide, and an interview guide. Secondary data was also gathered from security-related documents. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis, while qualitative data was thematically analysed. The results disclosed that structural, cultural, political, and economic factors were the predominant contributors to ethnic conflict in the Sondu area, leading to cases of insecurity. The study further established that for the perennial conflict to be resolved, the identified contributing factors should be addressed amicably by all security stakeholders under the lead of government security agencies through multi-agency approaches. This paper presents the study findings on factors responsible for the perennial ethnic conflict and its effect on security in the Sondu area.