Challenges to secure land ownership and their implications to social cohesion in Nakuru County, Kenya

Land ownership is a critical cause of land conflicts, which have deep social implications. These conflicts degenerate to violence, leading to deaths, displacements, dislocations and mistrust among people, thereby adversely affecting social cohesion among individuals and communities. In Kenya land-related conflicts may be explained by the people’s strong attachment to land and overdependence on agriculture for their livelihoods. This study used a case study of Nakuru County, in Kenya to explore how historical land conflicts have evolved over time, their causes and implication on social cohesion, given the ethnic diversity in the County. Nakuru county provided a rich ground for exploring the land conflict- social cohesion nexus given its past recurrent land related conflicts and the heterogenic ethnic populations with differing land use behavior that set the stage for problematic competition for land resources.  The study sought to identify and evaluate challenges to secure land ownership that drives land conflicts in Kenya and the implications they have on social cohesion. The study used the descriptive design to explain the underlined variables. Both primary and secondary data was used with the size of 500 informants. Sampling methods used were: purposive, snowball and clustered simple sampling. Data collection tools were: questionnaires, interview schedule, Focused Group Discussions and observations. The research established divisive politics, negative ethnicity, corruption and historical land injustices as the main challenges to secure land ownership.  The study recommends for involvement of communities in seeking solution to historical land injustices, sensitizing community members against negative ethnicity towards societal values of trust, respect for diversity and identities, tolerance as well as promoting equality and justice to enhance social cohesion.