The fifth Horn of Africa course took place in Kilifi on the Kenyan coast from 16 to 22 June 2012. The directors, Mark Bradbury and Ken Menkhaus, were again joined by Sally Healy as Deputy Director of Studies. Lectures were held, for the first time, at Pwani University College, where Deputy Course Director Hussein Mahmoud is a lecturer. Lecturers new to the course included Markus Hoehne, Mehari Taddele Maru, Terje Østebø and Sabine Troeger. Christopher Clapham of Cambridge University gave a well-attended public lecture at Pwani University College, posing the question: “What is different about the Horn of Africa?”