Lasting Side Effects: A Glimpse into the Political History of Kenya

Niaja Stringfield

ANTH 101: Introduction to Cultural Diversity

Dr. Robert Powell

June 5, 2018
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Introduction

Modern depictions of Africa often illustrate the continent as one country, one ethnicity,

one group of people living in poverty and waiting for developed nations to save them from their

plight. Americans in particular are not often educated on the customs and plights of specific

regions and countries, let along the longstanding history that leads to those particular

circumstances. In this writing, I intend to explore the history of Kenya, and how the former

British territory's history of settlement has left them in political disarray.

Environment & The Pre-Colonial-Era

Prior to the colonization of East Africa, the country we now know as Kenya was mainly

inhabited by three ethnic groups: Cushites, Nilotics, and Bantu people. These societies were

largely divided into two groups: agrarian and pastoral. Agrarian communities relied more on

natural resources, farming the land for food, while pastoralists, many of them former hunter-

gatherers, focused on the raising of livestock.

Kenyan land and goods were ripe for trading, and the first people to capitalize on this were

Arabs, who put down roots along the coastline in the 5th century. This opened up contact

between Kenya and countries like Persia and India, with whom they traded ivory, gold, and rhino

horns, among other things. Later, this settlement led to the development of Swahili culture along

the coastline. The language combined elements of Bantu dialects with Arabic, and the members

of this culture largely practiced the religion of Islam.

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Though colonization did not formally begin to take place until the 1800's, its seeds were sown

early in the settlement of Kenya by the Portuguese. Eager to take control of all trade around the

Indian Ocean, they waged war along the East Coast, attempting to convert the Swahili people to

Catholicism, but were ultimately forced out by the Arabs.

Throughout this period and continuing well into the Colonial Era, traditional societies were faced

with a struggle regarding land ownership. Each time land was conquered, or annexed, more

fertile land was taken from the farming communities, thus decreasing the resources allotted to

them.

The Colonial Era

In late 1884, 14 countries (13 European Nations and the United States) sent

representatives to Germany for the Berlin Conference. This was the starting point for what was

known as the Scramble for Africa, during which East Africa was divided into territories among

the attending nations. Ten years later, the formation of the British East African Protectorate

(which we now know as Kenya) invited a mass migration of white and Indian settlers, whose

arrival only pushed indigenous societies even further off of the fertile land. During this period,

land was divided into three parts: Scheduled Areas, or the White Highlands, which had been

outfitted with leasing titles and belonged largely to the government and white settlers; the Coast,

a 10-mile strip of fertile land controlled by the Sultan of Oman; and the Trust Lands. The latter

was where Native Africans largely resided; these lands were also known as "native reserves."

(Hornsby, 2013)
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The end of World War I- during which many Kenyans volunteered to fight- saw another influx

of white European settlers in what was soon to be known as Kenya. This continued land

alienation, alongside increasing famine and disease in Native communities and repeated

mistreatment by the government, inspired several movements for independence. Among these

were the East African Association (EAA) and The Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), both

formed by native Kikuyu people, and both banned by the British government. (Libcom, 2017)

Notable anti-colonial activist Jomo Kenyatta was a founding father of the EAA; he would later

go on to become the leader of the Kenya African Union (KAU) political party and win a seat on

the legislative council. He was also of Kikuyu descent, an ethnicity decedent of the Bantu

people.

In 1952, another Kikuyu group known as the Mau Mau began launching violent attacks on white

settlers and Africans who displayed loyalty to the Crown. A number of British soldiers were sent

to retaliate, and many Kikuyu people and suspected Mau Mau supporters were placed in violent

concentration camps. During this period, Jomo Kenyatta, suspected of spearheading the Mau

Mau, was imprisoned, and the KAU banned.

Independence and After

In the years following the defeat of the guerrilla group known as the Mau Mau, the ban

on political parties was finally lifted, and African politicians were permitted to attend colonial

negotiations in London. Jomo Kenyatta was eventually released from prison, and later elected

the first Prime Minister of Kenya upon its independence in 1963. However, the political unrest in

Kenya was far from over.

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Upon his release, Kenyatta had once again been named the leader of the KAU, which had

rebranded itself as the KANU, or the Kenyan African National Union party, founded by Luo

politicians Tom Mboya and Oginga Odinga. At the same time, the Kenyan African Democratic

Union (KADU) was formed by politicians who opposed the Kikuyu-Luo majority. The KADU

was later dissolved, leaving Kenya as a one-party state led by Kenyatta and Odinga.

In the late 60's, Kenyatta and Odinga split, and Odinga promptly started the Kenya People's

Union (KPU), the only political party opposing the KANU in any arena. What followed were a

number of political assassinations; the most notable of these was the murder of politician and

former Odinga collaborator Tom Mboya by a Kikuyu national. Mboya was of Luo descent, a

majority tribe of the Nilotes. This, coupled with the discord between Kenyatta and Odinga,

sparked not only a years-long rift between people of Kikuyu and Luo ethnicities that still rages

on in Kenya today, but decades of political unrest and violence.

An Anthropological Perspective

The history of Kenya is rife with themes of displacement and authoritarian rule, from the

invasion of Sayyid Said down to the fearfully unopposed Kenyatta administration of the 60's and

70's. The narrative of the people versus the oppressor has played out repeatedly over the years,

and it stands to reason that the controversy surrounding the 2017 General Election was no

different.
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Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are the sons of Jomo Kenyatta and Oginga Odinga,

respectively. Claims of vote tampering within the Kenyatta administration mirror claims from

the 60's that the elder Kenyatta's administration had carried out political assassinations to silence

and intimidate his opposers. The rivalry of Kenyatta versus Odinga, Kikuyu versus Luo is a call

back to that of their fathers, playing out in the public eye and only increasing unrest between the

two ethnicities. Per a 2012 article by Wycliffe Muga, Luo people feel that the Kikuyu "betrayed"

them during the Kenyatta regime of the 60's and 70's, while Kikuyus feel that Luos are

"hysterical" and "do not value stability." (Muga 2012) The inter-ethnic rift, as we have seen in

the events of the 2017 election, has poisoned not only the country, but its governing body, which

can only further cripple and upset the nation of Kenya.

Of course, Kenya is not entirely isolated, and the 2017 scandal cannot be exclusively blamed on

the country's history. The claims of conspiracy from Odinga also very closely mirror claims

made by the Democratic Party of the United States following the 2016 Presidential Election,

following which Donald Trump was inaugurated as President. Since then, claims of hacking,

vote tampering, and "fake news" have become increasingly popular on the world stage, and

many citizens- politicians and civilians alike- often struggle to discern the truth from the

falsehoods.

In an ideal society, the 2017 controversy would act as a "wake-up call" of sorts for the people of

Kenya, uniting the Kikuyu and Luo citizens in an effort to repair their government and put the

generations of unrest and violence behind them. Unfortunately, the deep distrust between the two
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ethnicities, coupled with increasing tensions between citizens and governments worldwide seem

to have made that unlikely.

Conclusion

In summation, it is my understanding that the people of Kenya, with specific regards to

the Kikuyu and Luo, are victims of history, of a suffering and oppression ingrained so deeply in

their beings that it causes them to struggle with the distribution of power. The violence and land

alienation impressed upon them by white settlers seems to have created a nomadic mindset of

sorts, wherein people do not define themselves as Kenyan, but based on their specific ethnicity

and, as such, their loyalty in the inter-ethnic rift that dominates their nation. I have learned an

incredible amount while studying the political unrest in Kenya and would like to research it more

in the future in hopes of seeing an end to the Kikuyu-Luo conflict.

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Biblography

Gatheru, R. Mugo. Kenya: From Colonization to Independence, 1888-1970. Jefferson, N.C:

McFarland & Co, 2005.

Hornsby, Charles. Kenya: A History Since Independence. New York, NY: I.B. Tauris, 2013.

"Kenya Profile - Timeline." BBC News. January 31, 2018. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-

africa-13682176.

"The Mau Mau Uprising, 1952-1956." Libcom.org. https://libcom.org/history/mau-mau-

uprising-1952-1956.

Muga, Wycliffe. "The Genesis Of The Luo-Kikuyu Political Rivalry - And How the Coastal

"Swing Vote" Landed in ODM." The Star, Kenya. September 29, 2012. https://www.the-

star.co.ke/news/2012/09/29/the-genesis-of-the-luo-kikuyu-political-rivalry-and-how-the-

coastal_c682950.

Shaffer, N. Manfred. "Land Resettlement in Kenya." Yearbook of the Association of Pacific

Coast Geographers29, no. 1 (1967): 121-39. doi:10.1353/pcg.1967.0006.