Northern Frontier District
Territory of British Kenya / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The North Frontier District (NFD), or Northern Frontier Province,[1] or simply Northern Frontier was one of the regions of British Kenya. Originally, the NFD covered the northern region of East Africa Protectorate later succeeded by British Kenya, it later included half of the Jubaland province that remained as part of Kenya when the other half was ceded to the Italian Empire.[2]
By the late 1920s, the Northern Frontier District covered nearly half of the colony's territory. The population of the region was estimated to be 65,136 in 1931.[3] It was one of the most underdeveloped region of the colony and was not favoured by settlers due to its arid and semi-arid climate.[4] In 1963, the NFD was divided into five districts across two provinces: Marsabit and Isiolo in Eastern Province; Wajir, Mandera and Garissa in North Eastern Province.[5]
During negotiations for Kenya's independence, Britain granted administration of the whole of the NFD to Kenyan nationalists despite an informal plebiscite showing the overwhelming desire of part of the region's population to join the newly formed Somali Republic.[4] The North Eastern Region of the NFD is, and has historically been, mostly inhabited by Somalis.[6][7]
In present-day usage, the NFD refers to the five counties of Kenya that were established out of the five districts created by the colonial government prior to independence.