Contesting the Subaltern Narrative: The Trickster Trope in the Kenyan Political Autobiography
Loading...
Date
2021-03-21
Authors
Mutie, Stephen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
This article is a critique of the idea of subalternity1 as it is used
in the Kenyan political autobiographies of leaders who have
reigned but never ruled.2 The study is largely located within
postcolonial theory, with particular emphasis on the strand
that interrogates the interest that inhabits the production of
knowledges about the self. The biographical method was
used to analyse Jaramogi Odinga’s Not Yet Uhuru, Bildad
Kaggia’s The Roots of Freedom, Raila Odinga’s The Flame of
Freedom and Joseph Murumbi’s The Path Not Taken.
Interrogating the dangers of a single story, the paper argues
that the Kenyan political autobiography is heavily loaded
with rhetorical performances determined by the need to tell
an effective story. Using trickery, and hiding behind the
hackneyed utopian concept of speaking truth to power, the
leaders examined here project selves that are fearless, bold
and revolutionaries aiming to forcefully and strategically
mythologise themselves. This process is made possible in the
contexts of historical (re)writing. Thus, Jaramogi, Kaggia, Raila
and Murumbi’s portrayal of themselves as victims and
subalterns in their autobiographies are for disguise,
deception, and indirection while maintaining an outward
impression, in power-laden situations, of willing, even
enthusiastic consen
Description
A Research Article in the Eastern African Literary and Cultural Studies
Keywords
Subalternity, Self mythologisation, Trickster trope, Political autobiography, Jaramogi, Kaggia, Murumbi;, Raila
Citation
Stephen Mutie (2020) Contesting the Subaltern Narrative: The Trickster Trope in the Kenyan Political Autobiography, Eastern African Literary and Cultural Studies, 6:2, 98-118, DOI: 10.1080/23277408.2020.1735124