2012–2013 Tana River District Ethnic Clashes

Between August 2012 and January 2013, Kenya witnessed one of its most serious bouts of communal violence in recent years when the Tana River District in Coast Province became the scene of repeated deadly clashes between the Orma and Pokomo peoples. The violence, sparked by longstanding disputes over land, water and resources, resulted in dozens of deaths, hundreds of homes torched and thousands displaced in the Tana Delta region.
Background and key moments
The Orma are traditionally pastoralist cattle-herders while the Pokomo are largely sedentary farmers along the Tana River, and their livelihoods and territorial claims historically overlapped and conflicted.
In late August 2012 a major incident in Reketa and adjacent villages triggered a retaliatory cycle: after several Pokomo reportedly died at the hands of some Orma, Pokomo raiders attacked Orma villages, burned houses and killed dozens, with machetes, bows, spears and firearms used.
In September and December further attacks followed: for example on 10 September 2012, 38 people were killed in Kilelengwani village; in December, early-morning raids killed around thirty to forty more, and many homes were set ablaze.
Amid the violence, security forces were deployed and a judicial commission of inquiry was established to investigate the root causes and accountability.
Reactions and impacts
The human cost of this conflict was significant: estimates by the Kenya Red Cross recorded over one hundred deaths in the early phase, and many thousands of people—especially women and children—displaced from their homes in the Tana Delta.
Civil society and human‐rights observers stressed that the violence underscored how competition over scarce resources in arid and drought-prone counties like Tana River can escalate when legal, administrative and customary conflict-management mechanisms weaken. Government officials acknowledged the severity of the crisis and pledged to tackle its root causes.
Future outlook
Moving forward, analysts argue that sustainable peace in the region will depend on strengthened land‐and‐water governance, inclusive dialogue among the Orma and Pokomo communities, and the development of livelihood alternatives that reduce zero‐sum competition. Without effective implementation of the commission’s recommendations and stronger early-warning systems for communal tensions, the risk remains high that similar cycles could recur—especially under pressure from climate variability and population growth in Tana River County.