Kenya

Long recognised as one of Africa’s most important centres for peace diplomacy and mediation, Kenya is an increasingly important global hub. IFIT’s engagement in Kenya has developed across two distinct and significant areas of work. At  the international level, Kenya is the lead diplomatic partner of IFIT’s Peace Treaty Initiative. At the national level, IFIT works with Kenyan partners on narrative dynamics that drive ethnic division and political polarisation.

Kenyan Leadership in IFIT’s Peace Treaty Initiative

In October 2024, Kenya formalised its role as the lead diplomatic partner of IFIT’s Peace Treaty Initiative: a decade-long effort to develop a new international legal framework for peace negotiation and mediation. Focused on the proposed Convention for the Support, Protection and Acceleration of Conflict Prevention and Resolution, the IFIT partnership with Kenya’s foreign ministry will see through a process of diplomatic consultation, negotiation and adoption of the treaty.

Inclusive Narratives and Depolarisation

IFIT has conducted substantial narrative peacebuilding work in Kenya. In collaboration with the Kenyan Directorate of National Cohesion and Values, IFIT experts have examined the narratives driving ethnic polarisation between the Luo and Kikuyu communities — a long-standing source of political and social tension that has periodically erupted into violence, particularly during election cycles. This work analyses ways deep-rooted historical grievances, collective trauma, and structural dynamics shape intergroup perceptions, and applies IFIT’s narrative peacebuilding approach to help communities move beyond entrenched divisions towards peaceful engagement and shared responsibility for managing conflict.