The Strategies of Government and Nongovernmental Actors in the Resettlement and Reintegration of IDPs in Eldoret, Kenya

Abstract

The Kenya government was between 2008 and 2015 completely stretched in terms of intentions and resources to resettle and reintegrate more than 650 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled their homes following violence arising from 2007 disputed elections.This study examines the strategies used by the government and nongovernmental actors in the resettlement and reintegration of IDPs in Eldoret.The study is informed by the Cernea (2000) Impoverishment Risk and Livelihood Reconstruction (IRLR) model which helps in the analysis and prediction of risk, impoverishment and reconstruction, in their relation to resettlement.It employs the ex post facto comparative research design to draw comparisons between 189 in camp and a further 189 out of camp respondents drawn from a population of 7,249 IDP households, regarding their views on the design and implementation of the resettlement and reintegration programs by the government and nongovernmental actors.Results indicate that the process suffered many gaps, like failure to profile the IDPs, poor distribution of resources and failure to consult the victims, which made IDPs doubt the commitment of the actors to resettle them.The study concludes that the process would have been conclusive if there was adequate coordination.