7) Borders of Kenya

The European "scramble for Africa" took place near the end of the 19th century. (1) Countries such as Belgium, Great Britain, France, and Germany all wanted to establish themselves in Africa for various motives. (2) In 1895, Great Britain declared Kenya a protectorate of the Imperial British East Africa Company. (3) Because of its status as a British colony, Kenya's borders were defined by Great Britain. (4) These boundaries have no relation to precolonial sectors which were distinguished by different ethnicities and cultures. (5) Like with many other African states divided up and colonized by nations of Europe, many of Kenya's ethnic populations cross national borders into other countries. (5)

Kenya as a part of British East Africa
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/kenya.htm

During the time of British colonial rule, British administration established impermeable tribal boundaries within Kenya's national borders. (6) These tribal boundaries were in great contrast to the previously held informal tribal boundaries, across which people and cultural traits passed freely. (6) Originally designed to preserve cultural diversity, these boundaries created a sense greater sense of tribalism which in turn weakened Kenya's national unification as a whole.

Ethnic Groups of Kenya as of 2007
https://welections.wordpress.com/category/kenya/

The institution of Kenya's national borders by Great Britain was a source of great discord between Kenya and Somalia even after Kenya's independence. At the time of colonial Africa, the Somali Penninsula  was split up between France, Italy, Great Britain, and Ethiopia. (7) Part of the British territory became Kenya. However, problems arose as a result of the Somali people being split up among the different colonies. The Somali nationalist claimed that the Somali people, now living in separate states, should be fully autonomous from their respective states, because of their status as part of the Somali nation. (7) As the first Prime Minister of the Somali Republic, Abdirashid Ali Shermaarke stated, "Our neighbors are our Somali kinsman whose citizenship has been falsified by indiscriminate 'arrangement'." (7) The "Greater Somalia" policy was enacted in the 1960s to unite all Somalis in one state. This policy only led to major skirmishes with Kenya. (8) Somali people still have a large influence in Kenya today.

Somali people groups in Kenya, shown in dark red
https://momenthistorysociety.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/jubaland114.jpg

Despite the struggles between Kenya and Somalia in the 1960s, the two countries have come to terms and established very successful trading relationships. The trading between the borderlands of Kenya and Somalia have contributed considerably to the economies of both nations. (9)

Excluding the conflicts of with Somalia and a few other instances, Kenya has had very few clashes with bordering nations. (10) Despite its somewhat disordered past, Kenya has grown to become a relatively peaceful and stable country with a strong National identity.

(1) Gatheru, R. Mugo, Kenya from Colonization to Independence, 1888-1970. Jefferson, N. C.: McFarland & Co, 2005, p. 6.
(2) Ibid., p. 7.
(3) Middleton, John, Encyclopedia of Africa: South of the Sahara Vol. 2, New York: Scribner, 1997, p. 429.
(4) Ibid., p. 431.
(5) Ibid., p. 432.
(6) Ibid., p. 433.
(7) Fevissa, Dereje,  and Markus Virgil Hohne, Borders & Borderlands as Resources in the Horn of Africa, Woodbridge, U.K.: James Currey, 2013. p. 4.
(8) Ibid., p. 5.
(9) Ibid., p. 133.
(10) Ibid., p. 6.