Post-Bereavement Internal Migration in Nyanza, Kenya: Timing and Destination Among Resident Households

Abstract

This study examined post-bereavement internal migration among resident households in Nyanza, Kenya, focusing on the timing and destinations of relocation following adult mortality. Although adult deaths disrupt household livelihoods, care and land access, whether bereaved households relocate more frequently or sooner than other households, and towards which settlements and kin, remains unclear. The study used retrospective event histories (2009–2026) from 1,200 households in 18 purposively selected sub-counties, supplemented by 24 key informant interviews and 12 focus group discussions. Of the 677 households that lost an adult aged 15–59 years between 2009 and 2024, 386 (57.0%) had moved by interview time. Kaplan–Meier estimates showed that 23.8 per cent had experienced a first post-death move within 12 months and 36.6 per cent within 24 months. Discrete-time event-history analysis indicated that the odds of moving were elevated only during the first six months after a death (OR = 1.44, 95% CI [1.09, 1.90]). Overall, 45.1 per cent of first moves ended in urban localities. Among widow-headed households, 23 of 34 lineage-directed moves were towards the widow’s natal lineage, although almost half occurred more than two years after the death. The study concludes that adult mortality is associated with a modest, short-lived increase in household relocation within an established mobility system. It recommends tracing departing households in surveys, recording lineage direction and linking newly bereaved households to support within six months. The findings provide comparison-based Kenyan evidence on post-bereavement relocation, contributing to migration theory and informing bereavement support.