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This video explores the history of the former Northern Frontier District (NFD) and the origins of the NFD Liberation Struggle (1963–1967), during which many Cushitic communities of northern Kenya fought to secede from the newly independent Republic of Kenya and unite with Somalia.
Although the Kenyan government ultimately defeated the insurgency, it has long referred to the conflict as the “Shifta War,” a term derived from the Amharic word shifta, meaning “bandit.” Critics argue that this label, inherited from British counterinsurgency terminology, diminished the political objectives of those who took part in the movement by portraying them as criminals rather than insurgents.
In contrast, many people from the former Northern Frontier District remember the conflict as a genuine struggle for self-determination and refer to it as the NFD Liberation Struggle or the NFD Liberation Movement. These differing names reflect the competing historical narratives surrounding one of the most significant and contested chapters in Kenya’s post-independence history.
This raises an enduring question: Who writes history—the victors, the vanquished, or the victims? The answer often depends on whose voices are preserved, whose experiences are acknowledged, and whose version of the past becomes part of the historical record.
The video is the product of Citizen TV as reported by a Citizen Staffer: To subscribe to Citizen TV for news etc: Log to Citizen TV @ https://www.youtube.com/@kenyacitizentv
This is an educational history of the northern frontier district of Kenya based on true history of Kenya.
