Are Kenyans Evicting Somalis From Their Country And Burning Their Businesses?
On April 29, 2026, an X user @mirah_japhta made a claim that Kenyans were attacking Somalis. The post had images of ongoing mob action with damaged commercial shops and burning tyres, and a caption tha read “Kenyans are chasing away the Somali and burning their businesses.”
When this report was published the claim had about 237,000 views and over 6,300 replies, reposts, quotes, likes, and bookmarks.
VERIFICATION
A fact check on the image used in the claim revealed the images appeared recently on social media, here and here, from April 29–30, 2026. It was connected to an ongoing conflict between the Mwingi and Tseikuru areas of Kitui County, Kenya. Recent unrest had been reported in the affected areas, and the violence was part of a cycle of retaliatory attacks between communities, mainly involving Kamba locals and Somali communities over pasture and water resources.
The latest series of attacks began on March 29, 2026, when a 44-year-old Kamba herdsman was killed near Mwingi Game Reserve. The following day, four members of the Somali community died, following a suspected retaliation. Another attack occurred on April 25, 2026, in the Kwa Kamari area leading to the death of seven people from the Kamba community. Residents and opposition leader, Kalonzo Musyoka have also attributed the killings to tensions between local farmers and camel herders from neighbouring counties seeking pasture and water in Kitui.
The regions now known as Garissa County, Wajir County, and Mandera County were part of the Northern Frontier District, NFD, during British colonial rule. When Kenya gained independence in 1963, these areas remained within Kenya’s borders, making the Somali populations there indigenous to Kenya, not migrants. Hence, the conflict is a communal dispute between Kamba locals and Somali communities in the region, not a xenophobic attack on Somalis.
CONCLUSION
The claim that Kenyans are chasing away Somalis and burning their businesses is MISLEADING. The incidents of violence and destruction of property in parts of Kitui County, particularly around Mwingi and Tseikuru, are linked to retaliatory attacks between the Kamba and Somalian communities from Kenya.
