CW-Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies

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    Ethnic indigene and nation building in Kenya: a critical survey of the 1962-1963 Kalenjin-Luhya boundary clashes in Aldai and its implications for the 'new nation'
    (Moi University, 2007) Lubanda, Eliud N.; Omanga, Duncan M.
    The advent of colonialism and the attendant activities of formal government authority over the African peoples and drawing of boundaries brought a new dimension of relationship between the communities resident in Aldai. Whereas the Kalenjin speaking peoples regarded themselves as the 'owners' of the area currently known as Aldai, the colonial government lumped them together with the Luhya and Luo speaking peoples under one Central Kavirondo and subsequently North Nyanza Province. Treasured cultural practices like female circumcision and cattle raiding were banned. Traditional enmities between the tribes were re-awakened, and a state of perpetual tension ensued between the communities living side by side in this period. This is reflected in the reports of the colonial administration during the drawing of the borders.There were problems between the neighboring Nandi and Tiriki of Serem. The Tiriki were forbidden from working in Nandi land (KNA 1956 DC/KBT/82 LND 16/1/1 Document No. 39) This paper discusses the arbitrary boundary making activities of the colonial government in this largely un-researched Aldai area in Western Kenya. How the boundary drawing project was the laying ground for some of the insidious ethnic differences between the neighboring communities. And finally, reflect on the challenge of nation building vis-a-vis ethnic identity in the light of troubled emerging ethnic relations in the Kenya.
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    Negotiating ‘Kenyanness’: Public discourses and Private realities
    (CODESRIA, 2008) Wekesa, Peter Wafula
    Most current debates on the Kenyan nation revolve around the unfortunate events that followed the disputed 2007 presidential elections. The resultant post-election violence claimed over 1,200 lives and left thousands injured, displaced and billions worth of property destroyed. The nation is still currently agonizing over the resettlement of thousands of people evicted from their homes after the violence. Food prices and other essential commodities have skyrocketed and social inequality is threatening the social fabric of the nation. More disturbing has been the rise of several militia gangs including Mungiki, Sungusungu, Saboat Land Defence Force, Taliban among many others. The key question that most analysts of the Kenyan scene have been grappling with is not just the impact of the post-election violence but more specifically the reasons that led to the violence and how a repeat of these unfortunate events in future could be avoided. In this paper, we examine the public and private discourses that have come to inform the debates around ‘Kenyanness’ as a concept. We argue that, if ‘Kenyanness’ is an ethical and philosophical doctrine, then it should relate to the broader context of Kenyan nationhood whose object is to aspire or inspire the Kenyan people into the love for their country, Kenya. Our basic argument is that the post-election violence in Kenya provided a key test to the more often projected Kenyan collective spirit. While questioning the public discourses around the Kenyan collective spirit, the paper raises pertinent issues on the concealed private realities that continue to inform the country’s social, economic and political developments. ‘Kenyanness’, as we suggest, ought to recognize the two levels of similarity and difference as strong building blocs for the Kenyan nationhood that is peaceful and prosperous.
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    Globalisation and the New Pan East Africanism: Exploring Borderland Research and Theoretical Issues in the Study of Regional Integration
    (The Africa-Asia-Latin America Scholarly Collaborative Program., 2008) Wekesa, Peter Wafula
    Intellectual discourses on regional integration in Africa have continued to gener¬ate diverse and often contradictory debates and responses. A common con¬vergence in these debates, as they have increasingly come to be associated with the current process of globalisation, is that regional integration is not only desirable but also necessary. The latter consensus seems to be justified on the premise that individual states cannot readily achieve their social, economic and political goals in isolation from their neighbours. Thus, the desirability of promoting regional integration continue to be widely acknowledged by multilat¬eral agencies, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), national governments and academics on the continent. The concept of Pan-East Africanism, seen as the new initiative to integrate the East African states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania is contextualized within the emerging global realities and trends. This paper sets out to review the state of regional integration efforts in East Africa. Viewed within the context of Pan-East Africanism, the paper explores some of the theoretical and methodological backgrounds informing current research on regional integration. Away from the often-accepted state-centric and mainly economistic theoretical formulations, the paper offers some critical reflections on regional integration based on the new emerging borderland perspectives. It specifically argues that people centred top-up theoretical perspectives offer a more informed and practical approach to regional integration in East Africa