Download or read book Kenya written by Shadrack W. Nasong'o and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The path towards democracy in Kenya has been long and often tortuous. Though it has been trumpeted as a goal for decades, democratic government has never been fully realised, largely as a result of the authoritarian excesses of the Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki regimes. This uniquely comprehensive study of Kenya's political trajectory shows how the struggle for democracy has been waged in civil society, through opposition parties, and amongst traditionally marginalised groups like women and the young. It also considers the remaining impediments to democratisation, in the form of a powerful police force and damaging structural adjustment policies. Thus, the authors argue, democratisation in Kenya is a laborious and non-linear process. Kenyans' recent electoral successes, the book concludes, have empowered them and reinvigorated the prospects for democracy, heralding a more autonomous and peaceful twenty-first century.

Download or read book The Struggle for Land and Justice in Kenya written by Ambreena Manji and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 2020 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the African Studies Association's 2021 Best Book Prize. Explores the limits of law in changing unequal land relations in Kenya.

Download or read book The State and Nation Building Processes in Kenya since Independence written by Mwangi, Susan Waiyego and published by Langaa RPCIG. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kenya’s nationalism during the colonial period was marked by two main characteristics that feature in this book. First, the struggle for independence that was mainly characterized by the claim for land that had been taken away by the colonizers. Second was the struggle for autonomy and self-determination, mainly through political resistance. The authors in this book analyse historical trajectories of Kenya's nationalism trends while highlighting the role of political leaders, large as well as small ethnic groups, perennial conflicts, community as well as religious leaders, among others. The discussions demonstrate that quest for a national identity that is inclusive at all levels – whether politically, economically, religiously and ethnically – has marked Kenya's struggle for nationalism, sometimes leading to violence, especially during election periods, national unity through political coalitions and reconciliation, as well as institutional reforms. In conclusion, the authors demonstrate that while Kenya is gradually advancing towards national cohesion, there are still many challenges yet to be surmounted.

Download or read book Kenya written by Charles Hornsby and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 1102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since independence from Great Britain in 1963, Kenya has survived five decades as a functioning nation-state, holding regular elections; its borders and political system intact and avoiding open war with its neighbours and military rule internally. It has been a favoured site for Western aid, trade, investment and tourism and has remained a close security partner for Western governments. However, Kenya's successive governments have failed to achieve adequate living conditions for most of its citizens; violence, corruption and tribalism have been ever-present, and its politics have failed to transcend its history. The decisions of the early years of independence and the acts of its leaders in the decades since have changed the country's path in unpredictable ways, but key themes of conflicts remain: over land, money, power, economic policy, national autonomy and the distribution of resources between classes and communities.While the country's political institutions have remained stable, the nation has changed, its population increasing nearly five-fold in five decades. But the economic and political elite's struggle for state resources and the exploitation of ethnicity for political purposes still threaten the country's existence. Today, Kenyans are arguing over many of the issues that divided them 50 years ago. The new constitution promulgated in 2010 provides an opportunity for national renewal, but it must confront a heavy legacy of history. This book reveals that history.

Download or read book Kenya s Freedom Struggle written by Dedan Kimathi and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British captured extensive archives belonging to the Mau Mau, which to this day have not been made public. Here for the first time, as a result of years of village - level research, historian Maina wa Kinyatti has recovered some of the movement's - and its leader, Dedan Kimathi's - most important papers. Translated in to English, they make startlingly clear movement's own perspectives on their struggle and its difficulties, the relatively advanced nature of their goals as a national liberation movement, and their radical visions of a liberated Kenyan society. Dedan Kimathi became President of Mau Mau's ruling body in August 1953 and remained its overall head until his capture and death two years later. He ordered the movement to keep documentation for the purpose of providing, as he put it, 'concentrate evidence that we fought and died for this land'. By recovering some of this material, Maina wa Kinyatti has done Kenyan history a signal service.

Download or read book Decolonization Independence in Kenya 1940 93 written by Bethwell A. Ogot and published by Ohio State University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a sharply observed assessment of the history of the last half century by a distinguished group of historians of Kenya. At the same time the book is a courageous reflection in the dilemmas of African nationhood. Professor B. A. Ogot says: "The main purpose of the book is to show that decolonization does not only mean the transfer of alien power to sovereign nationhood; it must also entail the liberation of the worlds of spirit and culture, as well as economics and politics. "The book also raises a more fundamental question, that is: How much independence is available to any state, national economy or culture in today's world? It asks how far are Africa's miseries linked to the colonial past and to the process of decolonization? "In particular the book raises the basic question of how far Kenya is avoidably neo-colonial? And what does neo-colonial dependence mean? The book answers these questions by discussing the dynamic between the politics of decolonization, the social history of class formation and the economics of dependence. The book ends with a provocative epilogue discussing the transformation of the post-colonial state from a single-party to a multi-party system."

Download or read book Politics of the Womb written by Lynn Thomas and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-08-20 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In more than a metaphorical sense, the womb has proven to be an important site of political struggle in and about Africa. By examining the political significance—and complex ramifications—of reproductive controversies in twentieth-century Kenya, this book explores why and how control of female initiation, abortion, childbirth, and premarital pregnancy have been crucial to the exercise of colonial and postcolonial power. This innovative book enriches the study of gender, reproduction, sexuality, and African history by revealing how reproductive controversies challenged long-standing social hierarchies and contributed to the construction of new ones that continue to influence the fraught politics of abortion, birth control, female genital cutting, and HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Download or read book Kenya s War of Independence written by Durrani, Shiraz and published by Vita Books. This book was released on 2018-02-08 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kenya's War of Independence restores Kenya’s stolen history to its rightful place, stripped of colonial interpretations. In this expanded and revised version of his 1986 booklet, Kimaathi, Mau Mau's First Prime Minister of Kenya, Durrani covers Mau Mau’s resistance to colonialism and neo-colonialism and reflects on its ideology, organisation and achievements. He sees Mau Mau in the larger context of Kenya’s war of independence and looks at the influence of organised, radical trade unions as the engine of resistance, linking economic with political demands of working people. Additional chapters document the post-independence resistance by the underground December Twelve Movement-Mwakenya. Durrani captures the dynamism of transition from colonialism to neo-colonialism: “Imperialism replaced colonialism, African elites replaced White Settlers, neo-colonial government replaced colonial government. Resistance changed from the War of Independence to War of Economic Independence. Worker and peasant resistance is evident once again. History is on the march”.

Download or read book The Making of the Constitution of Kenya written by Charles O. Oyaya and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-11 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kenya, like the rest of Africa, has gone through three sets of constitutional crises. The first related to the trauma of colonialism and struggle for independence. The second a period of constitutional dictatorship and the clamor for reform. The third, most recent crisis, being one of identity, legitimacy and the inability of the state to discharge its functions which has resulted in civil unrest, violent ethnic conflicts, poverty, social exclusion and inequality. The Making of the Constitution of Kenya examines the processes, issues and challenges of constitution making, governance and legitimacy in that country and the lessons that can be learned for others on the continent. Equipping the reader with a sound historical perspective on constitutional developments and the crisis of constitutional legitimacy in Kenya it gives an invaluable insight into the normative and political complexities involved in evolving a truly democratic and widely acceptable constitutional order in Africa.

Download or read book Political Protest in Contemporary Kenya written by Jacob Mwathi Mati and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses the emergence, strategies, and outcomes of the struggle to embed democratic governance and constitutional order in Kenya, showcasing both the power and the limits of citizen agency in the struggle to transform a postcolonial African state. Utilising data from primary interviews, media, and existing literature, this book analyses the emergence, diffusion, operational strategies, and outcomes of Kenyan constitutional reform struggles with a view to highlighting both the power and limits of social movement in transforming a postcolonial African state. It engages intersections of social movement and theories of democratisation to probe the production, operations, and outcomes of the disruptive yet creative power of the movements at the centre of the struggle to transform the Kenyan constitution. The book also appraises the "meanings" of, and developments after, the promulgation of the 2010 constitution with a view to illuminating the prospects for a transformative democratic political order in Kenya. This book is a useful tool in understanding the struggles specific to Kenya, but also offers insights into other democratic struggles on the African continent and beyond. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of social movements and political change in Africa in general and Kenya in particular.

Download or read book People s Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism in Kenya written by Durrani, Shiraz and published by Vita Books. This book was released on 2018-08-03 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks at the third pillar of resistance to British colonialism – people’s resistance, the others being Mau Mau and radical trade union movement. It brings together several aspects of people’s resistance to colonialism and imperialism – before and after independence and includes resistance by nationalities, women, students, peasants and workers in what can only be described as people’s resistance. While Mau Mau and trade unions were essential in the liberation struggle, on their own they would have faced innumerable difficulties to achieve their goal. Peasants, nationalities, women, children and young people, students, independent churches, independent schools, all played a part in reinforcing the organized and ideology led resistance of Mau Mau and trade unions. Additional material is included to provide thought for reflections. The first two essays deal with the question of nationalities and with the contradictions between capitalism and socialism with the collapse of USSR. They point to the fact that that the struggle in Kenya influences, and is in turn influenced by, developments around the world. The next section is the presentation at the launch of Kenya’s War of Independence in Nairobi on February 21, 2018. The final section contains solidarity messages from Shiraz Durrani, Abdilatif Abdalla and Kang'ethe Mungai at the event to commemorate and celebrate the revolutionary work of Karimi Nduthu held on March 24, 2018 at the Professional Centre in Nairobi. The Kenya Resists Series covers different aspects of resistance by people of Kenya to colonialism and imperialism. It reproduces material from books, unpublished reports, research and oral or visual testimonies. The three aspects chosen for the first three publications in the Series – Mau Mau, Trade Unions and People’s Resistance – make up the three pillars of resistance of the people of Kenya.

Download or read book Imperial Reckoning written by Caroline Elkins and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major work of history that for the first time reveals the violence and terror at the heart of Britain's civilizing mission in Kenya As part of the Allied forces, thousands of Kenyans fought alongside the British in World War II. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler, the British colonial government detained nearly the entire population of Kenya's largest ethnic minority, the Kikuyu-some one and a half million people. The compelling story of the system of prisons and work camps where thousands met their deaths has remained largely untold-the victim of a determined effort by the British to destroy all official records of their attempts to stop the Mau Mau uprising, the Kikuyu people's ultimately successful bid for Kenyan independence. Caroline Elkins, an assistant professor of history at Harvard University, spent a decade in London, Nairobi, and the Kenyan countryside interviewing hundreds of Kikuyu men and women who survived the British camps, as well as the British and African loyalists who detained them. The result is an unforgettable account of the unraveling of the British colonial empire in Kenya-a pivotal moment in twentieth- century history with chilling parallels to America's own imperial project. Imperial Reckoning is the winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction.

Download or read book Britain s Gulag written by Caroline Elkins and published by Random House. This book was released on 2023-09-21 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Only a few years after Britain defeated fascism came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya - a mass armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people, demanding the return of their land and freedom. The draconian response of Britain's colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of 1.5 million and to portray them as sub-human savages. Detainees in their thousands - possibly a hundred thousand or more - died from exhaustion, disease, starvation and systemic physical brutality. For decades these events remained untold. Caroline Elkins conducted years of research to piece together this story, unearthing reams of documents and interviewing several hundred Kikuyu survivors. Britain's Gulag reveals, for the first time, the full savagery of the Mau Mau war and the ruthless determination with which Britain sought to control its empire.

Download or read book Pio Gama Pinto written by Durrani, Shiraz and published by Vita Books. This book was released on 2018-10-19 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pio Gama Pinto was born in Kenya on March 31, 1927. He was assassinated in Nairobi on February 24, 1965. In his short life, he became a symbol of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles in Kenya and India. He was actively involved in Goa's struggle against Portuguese colonialism and in Mau Mau during Kenya's war of independence. For this, he was detained by the British colonial authorities in Kenya from 1954-59. His contribution to the struggle for liberation for working people spanned two continents - Africa and Asia. And it covered two phases of imperialism - colonialism in Kenya and Goa and neo-colonialism in Kenya after independence. His enemies saw no way of stopping the intense, lifelong struggle waged by Pinto - except through an assassin's bullets. But his contribution, his ideas, and his ideals are remembered and upheld even today by people active in liberation struggles. This book does not aim or claim to be a comprehensive record on Pio Gama Pinto, just the beginning of the long journey necessary to record the history of Kenya from an anti-imperialist perspective. It introduces readers to voices of many people who have written about Pinto to build up as clear a picture of Pinto as possible. In that spirit, it seeks to make history available to those whose story it is - people of Kenya, Africa and progressive people around the world.

Download or read book Mau Mau Crucible of War written by Nicholas K. Githuku and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2015-12-09 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mau Mau Crucible of War is a study of the social and cultural history of the mentalité of struggle in Kenya, which reached a high water mark during the Mau Mau war of the 1950s, but which continues to resonate in Kenya today in the ongoing demand for a decent standard of living and social justice for all. This work catalyzes intellectual debate in various disciplines regarding not just the evolution of the Kenyan state, but also, the state in Africa. It not only engages historians of colonial and postcolonial economic and political history, but also sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and those who study personality and social branches of psychology, postcolonialism and postmodernity, social movements, armed conflict specialists, and conflict resolution analysts.

Download or read book Kenya written by Daniel Branch and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2011-11-15 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On December 12, 1963, people across Kenya joyfully celebrated independence from British colonial rule, anticipating a bright future of prosperity and social justice. As the nation approaches the fiftieth anniversary of its independence, however, the people's dream remains elusive. During its first five decades Kenya has experienced assassinations, riots, coup attempts, ethnic violence, and political corruption. The ranks of the disaffected, the unemployed, and the poor have multiplied. In this authoritative and insightful account of Kenya's history from 1963 to the present day, Daniel Branch sheds new light on the nation's struggles and the complicated causes behind them.Branch describes how Kenya constructed itself as a state and how ethnicity has proved a powerful force in national politics from the start, as have disorder and violence. He explores such divisive political issues as the needs of the landless poor, international relations with Britain and with the Cold War superpowers, and the direction of economic development. Tracing an escalation of government corruption over time, the author brings his discussion to the present, paying particular attention to the rigged election of 2007, the subsequent compromise government, and Kenya's prospects as a still-evolving independent state.

Download or read book Classes and Class Struggle in Kenya written by Maina Wa Kinyatti and published by . This book was released on 2009-11-06 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CLASS STRUGGLE IN KENYATo understand social class in a society we should begin by making a scientific analysis of what certain groups or strata will or will not do, what they will or will not support, based upon our knowledge of their class background, interests, ideas and practices. An understanding of class forces in Kenya will lead to the conclusion that Kenya is a neocolonial, capitalist state with its base in imperialism. Further, it will tell Kenyans and the progressive world that under the capitalist system certain classes exist, each with a clear role in the production and maintenance or the destruction of capitalism, its political and military forces.Kenyan society is divided into five distinct socio-economic classes, and they are: a) the bourgeoisie, b) the proletariat, c) the lumpen-proletariat, d) the peasantry, e) the pastoralists. The Kenyan bourgeois class includes Africans, Europeans and Asia and consists of four main strata: 1) the imperialist bourgeoisie, 2)the comprador bourgeoisie, 3)the nationalist bourgeoisie and 4) the petty-bourgeoisie. all of them, with the possible exception of lower echelons of the petty-bourgeoisie, are exploiters of the working class people.Presently, the comprador bourgeoisie, though numerically small (1% of the population), is the ruling class in Kenya. it is the upholder of the capitalist mode of production. Its basic characteristics are that it lives on its parasitic connection with world imperialism, serving it faithfully in all social spheres. It has accumulated the most capital locally in its role as junior partner of world imperialism.Some members of this class, including the President of the Republic, cabinet ministers, members of parliament and judiciary, have unlimited accounts in swiss banks and other imperialist, capitalist shelters. Morally and intellectually, the comprador class is bankrupt and corrupt.In conclusion, this book aims at defining the class forces in Kenya as well as providing some directions in defining who is an ally and who is opposing the national democratic revolution, either overtly or through underhanded deversions and intrigues. Those Kenyans who see the necessity for a revolutionary change in the country must first deal with the fundamental question: "Who are the class enemy and who are the real friends of the Kenyan working class people?" or "the question potential enemies, or potential friends". What segment of population will be the major political force in the struggle for a national democratic revolution?