The Northern Frontier District comprises five counties of Wajir, Mandera, Isiolo, Marsabit, and Garissa, and the two contiguous counties of Lamu and Tana River. After independence, residents of these counties opted to secede from Kenya.
A plebiscite organised by the colonial administration found that 88 per cent of the NFD residents indeed wanted to secede and join Somalia. After independence, the Shifta war started after the residents demanded that the new government respects the result of the 1962 referendum. The government rejected the demand and took repressive measures to discourage any talk of secession.