The Evolution of the Multi-Ethnic Community in Turbo Sub-County, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya 1895-1963
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Date
2025
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JAIS
Abstract
The purpose of this article was to explore the historical and socio-political dynamics that
shaped the formation of multi-ethnic community in Turbo sub-county of Uasin Gishu
County of Kenya and analyses the evolution of these relations within the above time frame.
Initially inhabited by diverse ethnic groups including indigenous communities such as the
Sirikwa, and later Nilotic Purko and Uasin Gishu Maasai as well as the Kalenjin. The region
experienced dynamic ethnic interactions marked by migration, trade, and occasional conflict.
The arrival of European settlers in the early 20th century transformed Uasin Gishu's pastoral
landscape, with colonial policies fostering land dispossession, labor exploitation, and ethnic
divisions. Between 1906 and 1936, labor migration intensified as African communities such
as the Nandi, Abaluhya, Agikuyu, and Luo moved to settler farms, contributing to a multiethnic workforce despite colonial attempts to enforce ethnic separation. Tensions over land,
livestock, and labor continued through the 1940s, exacerbated by the Swynnerton Plan and
the Mau Mau Uprising. However, post-independence land-buying schemes fostered ethnic
integration, ultimately creating a diverse community in Uasin Gishu, despite lingering ethnic
divisions.
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ere, M; Gimode, E & Wekesa, P. (2025). The Evolution of the Multi-Ethnic Community in Turbo Sub-County, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya 1895-1963. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(1), 62 – 73