# Kenya's Northern Frontier District, 1962–1967: the vote that was not followed > Kenya's NFD, 1962–1967: the British commission, the March 1963 decision, the break with Britain, the conflict that followed, and the Arusha memorandum. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/northern-frontier-district-1962-1967/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short The Northern Frontier District (NFD) was the dry north of colonial Kenya. It covered about half of Kenya but held about one-thirtieth of its people ([HL Deb 3 April 1963, vol. 248, cc. 600–36](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/apr/03/northern-frontier-district-of-kenya)). Its eastern part was home mainly to Somalis. In 1962 Britain sent a commission to ask the people what they wanted. In the east it found near-unanimous support for joining the [Somali Republic](/en/states/somali-republic-1960-1969/). Britain did not follow that finding, and the district went to independent Kenya in December 1963. ## The commission of 1962 At the Kenya constitutional conference of 1962, an NFD delegation asked for all six districts to leave Kenya and join the Somali Republic. Kenya's two main parties, KANU and KADU, were "equally unanimous" in opposing any secession, a government minister later told Parliament (same source). Britain promised an inquiry and a decision before Kenya's new constitution came in. To make it impartial, it chose two commissioners from outside Britain: Major-General Bogert of Canada and Mr Onyiuke QC of Nigeria (same source). Their task was "to ascertain, and report on, public opinion" in the districts of Isiolo, Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Moyale and Wajir. They visited from 13 October to 28 November 1962. The report was published on 20 December as Cmnd. 1900 ([HC Deb 21 December 1962, vol. 669, cc. 256–7W](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written_answers/1962/dec/21/northern-frontier-district)). ## What the commission found The government summarised the findings in the House of Lords ([HL Deb 3 April 1963](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/apr/03/northern-frontier-district-of-kenya)): - **The east.** In Mandera, Wajir and Garissa, apart from the Riverine and Orma areas, and in the [Ajuraan](/en/society/ajuuraan/) area of Moyale, the people "almost unanimously favoured the secession from Kenya" with the aim "of ultimately joining the Somali Republic". - **A British period first.** These people wanted a period under British authority, to build their own government and join Somalia "as a self-governing unit". - **The west.** Elsewhere "the people either wished to remain in Kenya or opinion was divided or uncertain". The commission said it could not get a true picture of the views of the Rendille. Lord Lytton described the NFD as the dividing line in East Africa between what he called "non-Negro" peoples, mainly Somali and Galla (Oromo), and the rest of Kenya (same source, cc. 603–4). The Library of Congress says the commission found separation supported by both the Somalis and the Oromo herders ([Library of Congress](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/16.htm)). The Earl of Lytton, who spoke for the Somali case, estimated that "86 per cent. of the whole N.F.D. area wants secession". He asked the government to give its own figure if his was wrong (same source). ## The decision of 8 March 1963 On 8 March 1963 the Colonial Secretary, Duncan Sandys, announced the decision in Nairobi. The Somali area became a "separate Seventh Region" of Kenya, "enjoying a status equal to that of the other regions" ([HC Deb 8 March 1963, vol. 673, cc. 99–100W](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written_answers/1963/mar/08/northern-frontier-district)). It took in Mandera and Wajir, Garissa less the Riverine and Orma areas, and the Ajuraan area of Moyale. Sandys explained his reasons to Parliament ([HL Deb 12 March 1963, vol. 247, cc. 723–32](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/mar/12/kenya-1)): - Kenya's ministers felt that Britain should not take "an irrevocable step" before Kenya had a fully representative government. - The western NFD was "opposed with equal vehemence to secession". - A cession without Kenya's consent "would have provoked violent reactions throughout the country", and both Kenyan parties would have left the government. He added: "We did not, of course, imagine that this would fully satisfy Somali aspirations" (same source). ## Somalia breaks with Britain The Somali Republic answered at once. Prime Minister Abdirashid Ali Shermarke wrote on 17 March 1963 that his government, "with the support of Parliament", had broken off diplomatic relations with Britain. He wrote that protests "broke out in Mogadishu as soon as his announcement was heard over the radio" ([HL Deb 3 April 1963](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/apr/03/northern-frontier-district-of-kenya)). See [Abdirashid Ali Shermarke](/en/people/abdirashid-ali-shermarke/). The Somali government argued that Britain had broken its undertakings by placing the NFD inside Kenya's new constitution. The British government replied that it had only promised a decision on the findings, and had kept that promise (same source). ## Independence, December 1963 On 2 December 1963 the House of Lords debated the Kenya Independence Bill. Lord Lytton moved to leave out "the North-East Region" from independent Kenya. The government said the region held "many tribes, and not only Somalis". The amendment was negatived ([HL Deb 2 December 1963, vol. 253, cc. 872–92](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/dec/02/kenya-independence-bill)). Kenya became independent on 12 December 1963 with the whole district. ## The conflict, 1963–1967 Armed resistance followed in the north. Kenya's government called the fighters *shifta*, a word for bandits. Supporters of the Somali case in Britain, such as Lord Lytton, described it as a question of self-determination ([HL Deb 2 December 1965](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1965/dec/02/somalia-and-kenya)). The Library of Congress records both positions. Kenya charged that the fighters were trained in Somalia, armed there with Soviet weapons and directed from Mogadishu. The Somali government officially denied this, but its radio, the Voice of Somalia, broadcast into Kenya and influenced the level of fighting ([Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study*](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/16.htm)). The same source says the Somali Republic claimed self-determination for Somalis outside it, not sovereignty over the land. Lord Lytton had warned the Lords in December 1963 that the area would see guerrilla war and "dreadful reprisals" ([HL Deb 2 December 1963](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/dec/02/kenya-independence-bill)). In December 1965 Lord Lytton told the Lords that Kenya had declared the NFD to be under a state of siege. He reported Kenya's own figures: since independence it had "killed 400 Shifta and imprisoned 500 others" ([HL Deb 2 December 1965, vol. 270, cc. 1437–54](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1965/dec/02/somalia-and-kenya)). He also described the confiscation of livestock as punishment (same source). The British government answered that the NFD was "part of the independent country of Kenya", and that Britain could not intervene in "a dispute which is taking place between three independent countries". It said it was ready to restore relations with Somalia whenever Somalia wished (same source). ## The Arusha memorandum, October 1967 After Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister in 1967, Somalia sought better relations with its neighbours. With President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia as mediator, Egal and President Jomo Kenyatta signed a "memorandum of understanding" on the border dispute at Arusha, [Tanzania](/en/diaspora/tanzania/), in late October 1967 ([Reuters archive record, 1967](https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/293856)). Reuters reports that both sides agreed to keep peace on the border and end hostile propaganda (same source). See [Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal](/en/people/mohamed-haji-ibrahim-egal/) and [the civilian era, 1960–1969](/en/history/civilian-era-1960-1969/). ## Who suffered? Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission reported in 2013 ([TJRC report, as compiled by McMaster University's Truth Commissions project](https://truthcommissions.humanities.mcmaster.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/1CAF_References-to-History_Kenya-Report.pdf)): > "The Shifta War, waged between 1964 to 1967, represents a period in Kenya's history during which systematic and widespread violation of human rights (including mass killings) of Kenyan citizens occurred. Officially, the death toll stands at 2,000. Unofficial estimates place the death toll at 7,000." The commission added that in colonial times, administrators in the north had "extraordinary powers to arrest and detain" people, with travel and movement restricted (same source). Kenyan security forces also lost men. ## Sources differ - **The death toll.** The TJRC gives 2,000 officially and 7,000 by unofficial estimates. Other estimates run higher. No agreed figure exists. - **The war's dates.** The TJRC dates it 1964 to 1967. The Library of Congress speaks of more than four years of fighting. Other accounts date it from 1963, at independence (["Shifta War", Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifta_War)). - **The break with Britain.** Some summaries give 1962. Shermarke's own letter, read in Parliament, dates it to March 1963. - **How many wanted to leave.** The commission gave no single figure. Lord Lytton estimated 86 percent of the whole district; the government did not give its own number. ## Read the primary sources yourself - UK House of Lords, government statement on the Kenya constitution and the NFD, 12 March 1963: [Hansard](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/mar/12/kenya-1). - UK House of Commons, written answer with the decision of 8 March 1963: [Hansard](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written_answers/1963/mar/08/northern-frontier-district). - UK House of Lords debate on the NFD, 3 April 1963, quoting the commission's report: [Hansard](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/apr/03/northern-frontier-district-of-kenya). - UK House of Lords, Kenya Independence Bill, 2 December 1963: [Hansard](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1963/dec/02/kenya-independence-bill). - UK House of Lords debate on [Somalia and Kenya](/en/relations/kenya/), 2 December 1965: [Hansard](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1965/dec/02/somalia-and-kenya). - Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, 2013, history extracts: [McMaster University compilation (PDF)](https://truthcommissions.humanities.mcmaster.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/1CAF_References-to-History_Kenya-Report.pdf). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. 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