Emancipatory Practices: “Ethnicity” in the Contemporary Creative Industries in Kenya.

Emancipatory Practices: “Ethnicity” in the Contemporary Creative Industries in Kenya

Wanja Kimani

Several initiatives from artists’ collectives seek to empower and engage the new generation of young Kenyans as a way of overcoming ethnic divisions and tribalism (a legacy of British colonial rule). Art forms include but are not limited to exhibits of art and photography, theater, and poetry.

ising tensions, which had already ignited riots in parts of Kenya, surged ever higher on December 30, 2007. Samuel Kivuiti, the country’s electoral com-

mission chairman, was preparing to deliver eagerly awaited re-sults of the presidential election held December 27th between in-cumbent President Mwai Kibaki, of the Party of National Unity (PNU), and his opponent Raila Odinga, leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Provisional results, submitted on December 28th, indicated a close race. With 50 percent of the 14.2 million registered votes counted, Odinga appeared to have won (Ang’awa 2007).

Kivuiti prefaced his election announcement by warning Ken-yans not to succumb to “negative ethnicity.” Kibaki belongs to the largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu, while Odinga is a Luo, the second-largest ethnic group in the country. Citizens believe strongly that the presidency gives advantages to the incum-bent’s group. When Kivuiti confirmed Kibaki’s victory, Odinga supporters cried foul, insisting that the vote count had been rigged and pointing out that in several areas Kibaki’s votes ex-ceeded the number of registered voters (ibid.). Kivuiti’s plea notwithstanding, violence exploded across the country, last-ing more than 100 days and resulting in 1,133 reported deaths and the displacement of approximately 350,000 people (CIPEV 2008, 308, 351). These figures do not represent unreported or unidentified bodies, and the number of internally displaced

© 2010 The Ohio State University/Office of Minority Affairs/The Kirwan Institutespring 2010 251

R

race /ethnicity vol. 3 / no. 2 252

wanja kimani

persons may exceed the estimate due to the ad hoc response from government administration (ibid., 351).

Kenya’s ethnic divisions and tribalism stretch back to the time of British colonial rule. The British government under-

lined and manipulated the notion of ethnic-ity to maintain the status quo and deflect attention from the economic marginaliza-tion and inequalities that colonialism had established. The post-election violence in 2007, a legacy of the exploitation of ethnic-ity for personal and group benefit, has been a wake-up call for Kenya’s art and literary community.

Many artists and writers are actively working to counteract the divisiveness as-

sociated with ethnicity by focusing instead on the similarities Kenyans share, regardless of ethnicity. These artists and writ-ers are using community projects, art exhibitions, debates, open mic sessions, literary journals, and online communities to push Kenya toward peaceful change. For now, despite the fact that more than two years have passed since the post-election vio-lence, there is “no war, and no peace either” (Kuweni Serious 2010). Although human rights themes are not made explicit in these issues, they remain an implicit echo on the journey to-ward reconciliation and dialogue in Kenya.

Part I. The Primacy of Ethnicity in Contemporary Kenya: A Brief History

Ethnicity is a term saturated with social and anthropological ambiguity. It loosely refers to a shared cultural identity ground in similar practices: initiations, beliefs, and linguistic features that are passed on from one generation to another (Opondo 2004, 1). In the context of examining the divisive role of eth-nicity in Kenya, it is important to distinguish “ethnicity” from “tribe.”

J. F Ade Ajayi (Ekeh 1990) suggests that tribe and tribalism preceded the notion of ethnicity. Tribe originates from the Latin word tribus, which means territorial division, perhaps related to the three social class divisions in ancient Rome. Pre-colonial Kenya was comprised of a large number of peasants and other social classes who made a living from subsistence farming. The land in Kenya varies from one part to another, and groups of people in the different areas reflect those distinctions.

Under British colonial rule, bureaucracy straddled the spheres of production and circulation for the purpose of control, rein-forced by these “tribal” boundaries (Odhiambo 1995, 35). As a leading administrator reported, “our safety here lies in hav-ing the Masai to play off the Wakikuyu and vice versa. Either would fight the other with the greatest gusto if ordered to do so, and there is not the slightest fear of them ever combining, so of course my work is to keep the peace and play them off on each

Kenya’s ethnic divisions and tribalism stretch back to the time of British colonial rule. The British government underlined and manipulated the notion of ethnicity to maintain the status quo and deflect at-tention from the economic marginalization and inequalities that colonialism had es-tablished.

spring 2010 253

emancipatory practices

other when necessity arises” (Hall 1899). Negative ethnic divi-sions consequently took deeper root in the colonial era.

In order to further their objectives, the British repressed cul-tural traditions found in Kenyan art and literary circles. Pro-co-lonial values, meant to appeal to British settlers, were infused into plays, literature, dance, and song. These productions often degraded Kenyans. Moreover, any form of art or literature that was deemed to be “on the side of the independent movement” was banned (Thiong’o 2003, 54). These influences extended into the school system and were intended to distort children’s val-ues. The suppression of traditional values and ideals in order to put in place an “imposed history” (Wanda 2009) highlights the colonial government’s recognition of the power of the arts.

That understanding carried over once Kenya achieved in-dependence in 1963, and the neo-colonial mindset of Kenyan leadership continues to hamper the nation’s development. The limited extent to which the country has experienced true de-colonization is clearly seen in the heavy presence and influence of international investors, to the detriment of Kenyans them-selves (Kaiza 2008, 102–103). The more telling sign of continued colonization is the ongoing oppression of ordinary Kenyans by the Kenyan ruling elite. Whereas the proper role of the state is to promote and protect individual and group freedoms, the Kenyan government today, recapitulating the role of the British in the colonial era, is the prime violator of freedoms in Kenya. In the decades since Kenya achieved independence in 1963, ethnicity has often been the basis on which the government has organized its violations. The persisting importance of ethnicity was apparent in the im-mediate post-colonial period.

President Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first post-colonial presi-dent and a member of the Kikuyu tribe, and Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, a Luo, had different views on issues of governance regarding the ownership and redistribution of the land many Kenyans had lost under colonial rule (Onyango 2008). Kenyatta maintained the status quo through the suppres-sion of opposition parties and those whose views challenged his own (CIPEV 2008, 24). His regime saw many of his Kikuyu community dominate the civil service and state-owned enter-prises (Adar and Munyae 2001). Odinga’s public dispute with Kenyatta in 1969 led to Odinga’s two-year detention.

Kenyatta’s successor, Daniel arap Moi, was a Tugen, one of the smaller Kalenjin ethnic groups. He promoted the Kalenjin community by appointing its members in the public and pri-vate sectors in the 1980s (ibid.). Forty years later, Odinga’s son, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and President Mwai Kibaki, are confronted with a similar predicament with respect to the il-legal and irregular land allocation that characterized the 1980s and 1990s (Republic of Kenya 2004, 8 in CIPEV 2008, 31).

Over time, a number of prominent personalities who took issue with the status quo have been murdered, and the trials

The more telling sign of continued coloni-zation is the ongoing oppression of ordi-nary Kenyans by the Kenyan ruling elite.


wanja kimani

of suspected perpetrators have rarely come to conclusive ver-dicts. Victims include those from various ethnicities such as Pio Gama Pinto, Robert Ouko, Arwings Kodhek, Otieno Oyo, and JM Kariuki, among others who openly criticized the Kenyan government and its violation of human rights. The difficulty, the near impossibility, of bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice has led elites to act with impunity and instilled fear in the country’s citizens. This divide between a governing elite free to act with little fear of legal punishment and a fearful citizenry is heightened during times of election, when power can switch hands and, too often, immunity is granted for extra-judicial killings.

The 1969 assassination of Tom Mboya is a particular case in point that still weighs on the collective Kenyan mind. Mboya had been a prominent figure in Kenya’s independence, calling in his writings for a variation of African socialism that would re-vise the economic structure through the principles of efficiency and equality to create shared ownership of property, economic assets, international trade, and capital (KNCHR 2006, 22). This would have alleviated much dissatisfaction with international development efforts, widely held to serve the interests of for-eign investors and African leaders rather than those of ordinary Africans (Mboya 2007).

The death of Mboya, a Luo, was widely seen as an attempt to keep Luos out of political leadership. That suspicion was seemingly confirmed days after his murder with the arrest of Nahashon Isaac Njenga Njoroge, a Kikuyu, who was convicted for the crime. During a preliminary hearing, Njenga is reported to have said in his defense, “Why do you pick on me? Why not the big man?” No motive ever surfaced, some reports sug-gested that Njenga was never hanged, and his “big man” was never identified. Many Kenyans continue to believe that Ke-nyatta or members of the Kikuyu elite were behind Mboya’s death. Mboya’s son, Lucas, has suggested that his father’s death was the catalyst that permanently and publicly severed the ties between the two most influential tribes in Kenya, the Kikuyu and the Luo. It is “this hostility that has been the root cause of most of the political problems Kenya has to date” (ibid.).

Far too often, political power is maintained in Kenya through corruption, violence, and the laundering of public funds. This was very evident in the post-election violence of 2007, which was partly spontaneous and partly organized with the involve-ment of political leaders who provided young people with money to wage violence, effectively financing the deaths and displacement of Kenyans (CIPEV 2008, 99). On February 28, 2008, President Kibaki and opposition leader Odinga signed a power-sharing agreement known as the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008. The agreement established the office of prime minister and created the Grand Coalition government. The Independent Review Commission investigated voting ir-regularities, leading to the acknowledgement that the Electoral Commission of Kenya “lacked the necessary independence,

spring 2010 255


capacity and functionality . . . due to the weakness in its or-ganizational structure, composition and management” (NCCK 2009) to provide a reliable and efficient public service. Election Commission chair Samuel Kivuiti and twenty-one other mem-bers of that body were dismissed in December 2008.

The Kenyan government also established a Commission of Inquiry into the Post Election Violence to try to identify who planned, organized, facilitated, and committed egregious human rights violations (CIPEV 2008, 15). After a three-month inves-tigation, the commission produced a 529-page report, known as the “Waki Report,” named after the commission chairman Justice Philip Waki. The report notes that state security agen-cies failed to protect citizens, unlawfully killing 405 individuals, and that influential political and business people played roles in actively facilitating the violence (CIPEV 2008, 384–85, viii). The commission recommended a number of reforms and proposed that a local special tribunal independent of the high court, with international participation, be established to objectively investi-gate and prosecute suspects.

The Waki Report established a timeline for the tribunal, with the condition that failure to adhere to the schedule would impel mediator Kofi Annan to pass a sealed envelope with the names of key suspects to the International Criminal Court. The Kenyan parliament voted against a constitutional amendment to set up the special tribunal (HRW 2009); subsequently, on July 9, 2009, Annan gave the envelope to Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo. Ocampo will prosecute the suspects if investigations show that they commit-ted crimes against humanity, genocide, and/or war crimes.

Although proceedings at the ICC can be lengthy, many Ke-nyans hope that the ICC’s investigations and findings will help guide needed reforms and reconciliation, nation-building and peace in Kenya. Until then, many Kenyans are likely to remain skeptical of nation-building government initiatives, in large part because their government so often has been a key violator of human rights with divide-and-rule tech-niques meant to incite hatred and ethnic violence. The majority is repressed for the benefit of an elite minority in an autocratic society. It is within such an undemocratic society that the battle between the artist and the state rages: “There is a war going on between art and the state. Writing is more dangerous than killing, says the state” (Thiong ’o 1998, 4). It is in the spirit of reconciliation and nation-building that many artists and writers have mobilized to work against “eth-nic violence” in Kenya.

Part II. Writing and the Arts as Collective Resistance in Contemporary Kenya

In reflecting on Walter Benjamin’s essay “Author as Pro-ducer,” Okwui Enwezor (2004) said “Collectives tend to emerge

“There is a war going on between art and the state. Writing is more dangerous than killing, says the state.”


wanja kimani

during periods of social upheaval and political uncertainty within society [facilitating] a re-evaluation of the nature of ar-tistic work, and a reconfiguration of the shared position of the artist in relation to economic, social, and political institutions.” Although Benjamin was examining Europe and the struggle be-tween capitalism and socialism, the analogy is an apt starting point for looking at the status of contemporary Kenyan art and literature produced during an unstable political climate, where a coalition government “doesn’t follow the rule of law [and] there are fears you will be killed if you become more outspo-ken” (Kuweni Serious 2010).

One exemplary artistic initiative is the Picha Mtaani (Heal the Nation) project initiated by Kuweni Serious. It is a national reconciliation tour that was launched on December 6, 2009 with a 24-hour street photography exhibition, the first of its kind in Africa. The display “aims to provide a platform for individual reflection, honest dialogue, interpersonal healing and community reconciliation space to over 2 million young Kenyans, through street photo exhibitions, hosted dialogue fo-rums, psycho-social support and youth action” (Gachara 2009). Project organizers believe the future health of Kenyan society requires, first, the engagement of its young people, and, sec-ond, the resolution of its “identity crisis”--“the crisis of the two publics, the national and the ethnic identities, well illustrated by the primacy of ethnic sympathies at the crunch moment of the election conflict” (Picha Mtaani 2009).

The images on display in the Picha Mtaani project, similar to those in the Kenya Burning exhibition described below, de-pict the damage to the nation during the post-election violence. About 150,000 people visited the month-long exhibition in Nai-robi, participating in constructive dialogue on the cause of the violence and the process of reconstruction. One participant noted that “pictures speak more than a thousand words . . . I wish they could have told a different story, the story that we have always believed our country was. But these pictures tell a different story, a story of the inherent evil latent in each of us, a story of the superficiality of ethnicity” (ibid.).

Although a number of the visitors believed that the images recall a moment in Kenyan history that should be forgotten, I believe that recollection aids reconstruction. As Ozzonia Ojielo, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country

representative, said, it is in “remembering we don’t forget, in remembering we recon-struct, in remembering we rebuild” (Kang’ ong’oi 2009). The national project hopes to build a dialogue among Kenyans, particu-larly young people, in the seven provinces that were most affected by the election vio-lence, with the hope of pursuing reconcilia-tion (Gachara 2009). Picha Mtaani is one of

a number of initiatives taking place in Kenya, using the arts to significantly intervene and address the country’s civil, political,

Picha Mtaani is one of a number of initia-tives taking place in Kenya, using the arts to significantly intervene and address the country’s civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and political concerns, loosely framed within a human rights discourse.

spring 2010 257


economic, social, cultural, and political concerns, loosely framed within a human rights discourse. In a similar manner, the efforts of the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan Writers have contributed to this effort, albeit to a wider, even global, audience.

The voices of the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan Writers (CKW) contributed to the Waki Report and have been promi-nent among the artistic responses to the post-election violence (Mushtaq 2008). By creating an online forum of more than eighty writers, philosophers, and artists who contribute and critique each other’s writing, they collectively explore methods of reconciliation and train young journalists to engage in criti-cal issues. Members of CKW actively protested to Sky News as images that typically painted a barbaric picture of Kenya were televised to the world. Shalini Gidoomal, a freelance journalist and member of CKW, expressed her concern over the “inac-curate reporting by the international media, telling the typical Dark Continent stories.” She notes that although not all CKW members were journalists, the membership was able to “re-spond to what we found to be ill-informed, stereotypical and misleading coverage of the violence by reporters who barely knew the country and its people” (ibid.). CKW continues to create space for independent thought and action that provide a nurturing foundation for national and intergroup dialogue. In Daring Truth, Jeremiah Okong’o (2008) notes that African iden-tity discourse suffers at the mercy of slavery, colonialism, im-perialism, and globalization. These can be internal imperatives that craft the relationships between Kenyans. Okong’o believes that it is through independent thinking that one can avoid the pitfalls that may originate in the misinterpretation of truth by others (Okong’o 2008, 17–18), namely ruling ideologies often presented as truth by political elite.

Kwani? (Why Not?) is “a reactive literary journal that seeks to utilize individual stories in order for society to see itself more coherently.” Since 2003, Kwani Trust has published five edi-tions of Kwani?, combining writing, photography, illustration, and poetry that build on an ever-widening circle of dialogue. The interdisciplinary nature of entries encourages an inclusive readership. Nonfiction, illustrations, poetry, and photography are coherently combined to focus on different aspects of Ke-nyan life. The use of English, Kiswahili, and Sheng (a mixture of English, Kiswahili, and other languages) accommodates people from all backgrounds. While the writing style makes the volume very accessible, much of the content remains un-compromisingly subversive. The current editor of Kwani?, Billy Kahora, has said that he means for the publication to encourage “a new kind of journalism that can go beyond the dry official voices of the last 40 years and open up the new socio-cultural and socio-political spaces that are emerging in the country by the use of literary elements” (Kahora 2008).

A double issue of Kwani?, entitled Beyond the Vote: Maps and Journeys and Beyond the Vote: Revelations and Conversations, fea-tures more than fifty writers, photographers, poets, and cartoon-


wanja kimani

ists examining the period marked by post-election violence. The issues combine a number of stories, images, interviews, illus-trations, and poetry. There are also excerpts from distressing text messages sent from mobile phones to a call center set up by George Gachara in order to assist victims. Some messages request assistance after individuals have been left stranded in Kipkelion with “no food for seven days” and report the inhu-mane treatment many individuals suffered after being “given notice to vacate” following the threat of violence. Calls for help are a common thread in the images of loss and poems of love featured in the issue. Another volume, entitled After the Vote. Dispatches from the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan Writers, features nonfiction electoral coverage by five writers.

Kwani Trust also hosts a number of monthly poetry read-ings and open mic sessions, which attract a large audience keen to hear and share ideas and perspectives. These have provided a vital platform for performers who may not have other av-enues in which to display their work. The sessions have proved especially popular among young Kenyan adults.

Unfortunately, the threat of detention and death still looms over outspoken artists and writers. A number of murders re-main unsolved, such as the case of Bantu Mwaura, an eminent human-rights activist and poet, who brought his vocal political views to a wide audience in early open mic sessions. Although his death has been called a suicide (Oloo 2009), many have not ruled out the possibility of an assassination (Wangari 2009). The 2009 deaths of human rights activists Oscar Kamau Kin-gara and John Paul Oulo further underline the risk assumed by those who struggle for the right to freedom of expression in contemporary Kenya.

Despite setbacks, this artist-driven movement for peace and reconciliation in Kenya continues to gain momentum. Addi-tional national and international organizations engaged in the struggle include PEN International Kenya, Pambazuka News, and FanARTics Kenya Ltd, along with individuals such as Eric Wainaina, Kingwa Kamencu, George Gachara, Boniface Mwangi, and Mstari Wa Nne. Their efforts are infusing many Kenyans with a new faith in their capacities both as individuals and members of groups unfettered by ethnic rivalry. A number of cultural institutions have also proven to be successful hosts for art exhibitions, theater productions, musical performances, and poetry recitations that support reconciliation.

A leading example is The GoDown Arts Centre, which held a photo exhibition, entitled Kenya Burning, in April 2008. The

well-attended showcase featured photo-graphs that documented post-election vio-lence that was not covered in the national or international mainstream media. The im-ages captured the inhumanity and brutality

of the conflict. Judy Ogana, director of GoDown, said, “We’ve had many exhibitions, but never had so many people broken down in tears . . . the public reaction was incredibly physical”

“We’ve had many exhibitions, but never had so many people broken down in tears . . . the public reaction was incredibly physical.”

spring 2010 259


(Eveleens 2008). The absence of politicians at the exhibition, and at its subsequent installment at the RaMoMa Museum of Mod-ern Art, led Ogana and her colleagues to offer to take the photo-graphs to parliament. That offer was rejected. Ogana notes that “political leaders have failed . . . we have to establish alternative leadership with influential artists who must serve as the voice of reason” (ibid.). That call for alternative leadership presumes freedom of expression and association, which entails a space where ideas can circulate uncensored.

An innovative theater production, exemplifying the role of theater as a reflective space in society, can be seen in A House Di-vided, directed by Victor Ber and written by Munene wa Mumbi. This satirical play follows a woman who finds herself married to two men. In order to settle disputes, they agree to share her body, with one husband taking her top half, and the other hus-band her lower. Problems arise when the woman falls pregnant. Where one husband’s actions manifest in the other man’s terri-tory, their initial agreement fails to account for an overlapping interest in their respective territories. The play addresses issues of governance through expressing the brutal truth that is not only therapeutic, but also debases negative prejudices.

Speaking about the role of theater, Munene wa Mumbi, in an e-mail message to the author, believes “theatre has a critical role in not only freedom of expression and association, but in other freedoms that would facilitate an improvement of humanity . . . giving a forum for immediate expression and direct raw associ-ation not present in other media.” Theater provides society with a self-presence as opposed to the distance of representation that is presented when an individual watches television (Rancière 2004, 278). This is similar to the way that Kwani? encourages a society to use its stories to see itself more coherently. It is in this form of action that arts and literature are encouraging informed and active spectatorship. Watching a theater production, read-ing a story, listening to poetry, or looking at a painting is an ac-tion that not only produces an “interpretation of the world . . . but also a means of transforming it” (ibid., 277).

The audience is therefore of vital importance in the role of arts and literature within political intervention in Kenya. Their participation goes beyond interactivity in their individual power to translate and connect with the work intellectually. Munene wa Mumbi highlights the fact that although there may be intellectual freedom to a large extent in the choice to perform plays such as A House Divided, there still remains a distinct lack of facilitation of intellectual environment in the form of oppor-tunities such as creative writing fellowships or publication of research journals, reflected in Kenya’s modest contribution to a global discourse. However, despite this limited contribution, it is my belief that the examples explored within Kenya can speak to other artists and writers in addressing the complexi-ties of ethnicity and human-rights concerns around the world.

Countering the image of Kenya as a deeply divided tribal country remains a major challenge for the country’s artists and


wanja kimani

writers (Kaiza 2008, 102). While ethnicity continues to receive much analytical attention, issues of class and economic mar-ginalization remain prime movers in Kenyan life. “There is a looming class war” (Muritu 2008) between those on opposite ends of the economy. Kwani Trust’s founding editor Wainaina emphasizes the danger in assuming that because Prime Minis-ter Odinga and President Kibaki represent different ethnicities their interests are fundamentally opposed. In fact, he stresses, they “are brothers of the same class of families who feel they have a royal right to rule . . . they are in a conspiracy to control the history and future of Kenya, which we are told is all about them, their daddies, their cousins and their uncles in law” (Wainaina 2007, vii).

Meanwhile, many artists and writers continue to work to-gether, equipping and developing a new generation of leaders who will pursue a vision that transcends both class and ethnic-ity and promotes equality. Those who lost their lives fighting for independence from colonial rule did not die because they were born a Maasai, Kamba, Kalenjin, Kikuyu, or Luo. They fought and died for the independence of a country in which they had faith.

Conclusion

Artists, writers, illustrators, and photographers are working toward a future for Kenya that is not based on economic clout, political association, or negative ethnicity. The work currently undertaken by the country’s creative industry is not designed to identify people to be prosecuted for human rights violations; it is meant to promote national reconciliation with the aim of preventing further violence. Kenya has long been led by people who make ethnic identity into politics, and vice versa. There is an urgent need for new leaders who look beyond ethnicity. The hope of these activist artists is to nurture a new generation of

young Kenyans that does not give rise to eth-nic chauvinism, a generation able to move toward a more just Kenya. It is what editor Kahora highlights in his call for “a collective vision” illuminated by prominent figures in resistance writing such as Abdulatif Abdal-lah, Marjorie Oludhe-McGoya, and Ngũgĩ

wa Thiong’o. That “collective vision” requires the spark that has clearly been ignited within contemporary Kenyan literature.

There is evidence of similar human-rights sparks in artists and writers working around the globe. A striking example of this is Parisian artist, JR, who uses photography to produce large-scale murals. His project, Face 2 Face, juxtaposes photo-graphs of Palestinian and Israeli citizens with humorous facial expressions. Those pictures help produce understanding based on a shared humanity. Through the lens of hand-held cameras, films such as Burma VJ, directed by Anders Østergaard, provide the world with insight into the lives of courageous young citi-

The hope of these activist artists is to nur-ture a new generation of young Kenyans that does not give rise to ethnic chauvin-ism, a generation able to move toward a more just Kenya.

spring 2010 261


zens on the streets of Rangoon who go to extreme measures to report human-rights violations. The global audience is drawn in to the psychological and emotional trauma experienced by the main video journalist, Joshua, who witnesses burning monks and military brutality. The audience is compelled to act. These actions may include lobbying for greater freedom of ex-pression through international organizations or participating in local initiatives such as the Picha Mtaani project in Kenya.

Members of an emancipated society are able to observe, se-lect, compare, translate, and appropriate stories for themselves in order to place their own narratives within the culture’s overall discourse. Such a society includes storytellers able to share and distribute tales that reflect their own unique condi-tions and contexts. This society allows storytellers to trade their stories while setting their own conditions of distribution. This independent form of production preserves integrity, which as the late Bantu Mwaura believed, is exasperated in the “NGO- fication” of art in Kenya that reduces artistic work to market-able commodities and maintains a steady flow of “air-lifted” artists who fly to western heights where their talents are nur-tured and appreciated to a greater degree (Warah 2008).

Artists, writers, illustrators, and photographers are work-ing toward capturing a future for Kenya that is not based on economic clout, political association, or negative ethnicity. Al-though human rights are embedded in law in order to actively seek justice for crimes committed and to put an end to impunity, the collectives mentioned in the creative industry in Kenya are working toward an end that will alter this course by preventing, rather than curing, systematic violations of human rights.

Kenya has been subject to a generation of politicians who breed ethnicity as politics and vice versa, who continue to in-fect the country with its “self-serving obsession on ethnicity as politics and politics as ethnicity. It has lived longer than most Kenyans can expect to live and yet it refuses to exit the stage” (Kahora 2008). There is an urgent need for new leaders who look beyond negative ethnicity. As it currently stands, the cre-ative industry is nurturing the future candidates.

In this spirit, I conclude with Fingers, a poem by Sembene Ousmane, which encapsulates both the concepts explored in this article and my own view on the inextricable relationship between art, literature, and politics.

Fingers, skilful at sculptureAt modelling figures on marble,At translation of thoughtsFingers that would impress,Fingers of artists.Fingers, thick and heavyThat dig and plough the soilAnd open it up for sowing,And move us,Fingers of land tillers.A finger holding a trigger


wanja kimani

And eye intent on a target finger.Men at the very brinkOf their lives, at the mercy of their fingerThe finger that destroys life.The finger of a soldier,Across the rivers and languagesOf Europe and AsiaOf China and Africa,Of India and the Oceans,Let us join our fingers to take awayAll the power of their fingerWhich keep humanity in mourning.

Works Cited

Adar, Korwa G., and Isaac M. Munyae. 2001. Human rights abuse in Kenya under Daniel Arap Moi 1978–2001. African Studies Quarterly 5(1): 1. http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v5/v5i1a1.htm (accessed March 10, 2010).

Ang’awa, William. 2007. Raila vs. Kibaki--the gap closes? Kenya Elec-tions, December 28. http://www.kenyaelections.com/newsflash/raila-vs-kibaki-the-gap-closes.html (accessed December 2, 2009).

Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV). 2008. Oc-tober 15. http://www.dialoguekenya.org/docs/PEVReport1.pdf (accessed March 10, 2010).

Ekeh, Peter P. 1990. Social anthropology and two contrasting uses of tribalism in Africa. Comparative Studies in Society and History 32(4): 660–700.

Enwezor, Okwui. 2004. The artist as producer in times of crisis. 16 Bea-ver Group. April 15. http://www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000839.php (accessed December 1, 2009).

Eveleens, Ilona. 2008. Kenyan artists to the fore for peace. Power of Cul-ture. February. http://www.powerofculture.nl/en/current/2008/february/kenyan_artists(accessed January 3, 2010).

Gachara, George. 2009. Why Picha Mtaani? Kenya badly needs to rec-oncile. Picha Mraani. http://www.pichamtaani.com/ (accessed January 2, 2010).

Hall, Francis. 1899. In Ngugi wa Thiong’o: The making of a rebel: A source book in Kenyan literature and resistance. Edited by Carol Sicherman, 316. London: Hans Zell 1990.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2009. Establishing a special tribunal for Kenya and the role of the International Criminal Court. March 25. http://www.hrw.org/node/81547#_The_prosecutor_at (accessed January 2, 2010).

Kahora, Billy. 2008. Editorial: The fire next time. Kwani? 05, Part 2 Ki-wani Trust. http://kwani.org/main/kwani-books/kwani-05-part-2-editorial/ (accessed December 1, 2009).

Kaiza, David. 2008. Benediction in Oyugis. In Kwani? Twin Edition Part 1. Edited by Billy Kahora. Mumbai: Print House.

Kang’ong’oi, Bertha. 2009. The first ever 24 hr street exhibition in Africa. Picha Mtaani. http://www.pichamtaani.com/blog/blog .asp?000=4.

Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). 2006. An Evening with Tom Mboya, 22.

Kuweni Serious. 2010. www.kuweniserious.org.

spring 2010 263


Mboya, Lucas. 2007. Who killed my father? African Press. September 15. http://africanpress.wordpress.com/2007/08/15/kenya-lucas-mboya-who-killed-my-father/ (accessed January 2, 2010).

Muritu, James. 2008. The looming class war in Kenya. Kenya Imag-ine. September 8. http://www.kenyaimagine.com/Politics-and-Governance/The-looming-class-war-in-Kenya.html?Itemid=0 (ac-cessed January 3, 2010).

Mushtaq, Najum. 2008. Kenya: Writing for Peace. AllAfrica. August 4. http://allafrica.com/stories/200808050007.html (accessed Decem-ber 13, 2009).

National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK). 2009. Kriegler com-mission simplified report. June 24. http://www.ncck.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=115:krieglerreport&catid=55:publications&Itemid=108 (accessed May 12, 2010).

Odhiambo, E. S. 1995. The invention of Kenya. In Decolonisation and independence in Kenya 1940–93. Edited by B.A. Ogot and W.R. Ochieng, 3–5. Nairobi: East African Studies.

Okong’o, Jeremiah. 2008. Daring truth. In Kwani? Twin Edition Part 1. Edited Billy Kahora, 17–18. Mumbai: Print House, 2008.

Oloo, Onyango. 2009. He fought for the soul of Kenyan theatre. The East African. May 2. http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine /-/434746/593250/-/item/2/-/biwmjm/-/index.html (accessed January 3, 2010).

Onyango, Dennis. 2008. Kenya: Skewed distribution of land still haunts. All Africa. April 6. http://allafrica.com/stories/200804070327 .html (accessed January 2, 2010).

Opondo, Atieno. 2004. Ethnicity: A cause of political instability in Africa? Rwanda: Kigali Institute of Education.

Ousmane, Sembene. 1971. Fingers. In Lotus Awards: Permanent Bureau of Afro-Asian Writers.

Picha Mtaani. 2009. 24hr Picha Mtaani photo exhibition comments. Pi-cha Mtaani. http://www.pichamtaani.com/blog/blog.asp?000=1 (accessed January 3, 2010).

Rancière, Jacques. 2007. The emancipated spectator. Artforum March: 271–80.

Republic of Kenya. 2004. Report of the commission of inquiry into the illegal/irregular allocation of public land (The Ndung’u Report). Nairobi: Government Printer 8 in Commision of Inquiry Into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV, 2008, 8)

Thiong ’o, Ngugi wa. 1998. Penpoints, gunpoints and dreams: The perfor-mance of literature and power in post-colonial Africa. New York: Ox-ford University Press.

———. 2003. License to write: Encounters with censorship. Compara-tive Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (23)1&2: 54.

Wainaina, Binyawanga. 2007. Editorial. In Kwani? 4. Edited by Billy Kahora. Mumbai: Print House, 2007.

Wanda, Ronald, E. 2009. The writer and development in East Africa. International Analyst Network. http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=2704 (accessed December 1, 2009).

Wangari, Njeri. 2009. The news of Bantu Mwaura’s death shocks Ke-nyan bloggers. Global Voices. April 28. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/04/28/the-news-of-bantu-mwauras-death-shocks-ke-nyan-bloggers/ (accessed January 4, 2010).

Warah, Rasna. 2008. Art and the road to riches. Kwani Trust. July 30. http://kwani.org/main/art-and-the-road-to-riches-by-rasna-warah/ (accessed December 1, 2009).

N e w f r o m I N d I a N a U N I v e r s I t y P r e s s

medIa aNd IdeNtIty IN afrIca

edited by Kimani Njogu and John middleton“This is a volume that will be regularly

referenced for its individual studies and as a collective snapshot of the variety,

complexity, embeddedness, and fecundity of African cultural production in diverse

interlocking media.” —Graham Furniss, University of London

paper $29.95

startINg from QUIrPINI

The Travels and Places of a Bolivian People

stuart alexander rockefeller“A beautifully written ethnography. . . An example of careful and evocative

writing about what people do.” —Laurie Kain Hart, Haverford College

paper $24.95 cloth $65.00

the afrIcaN dIasPora aNd

the dIscIPlINesedited by tejumola olaniyan

and James h. sweet“Truly remarkable, innovative,

important, and critical scholarship that is unparalleled in its interventions

at the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological levels.”

—Percy Hintzen, University of California, Berkeleypaper $27.95 cloth $75.00

self aNd commUNIty IN a

chaNgINg worldd. a. masolo

“Inspiring not only to those who are directly related to the African discussion, but also to any thinker who asks how in

the world we can coexist with that which makes us singular and that which we

share with the other.” —Jean-Godefroy Bidima, Tulane University

paper $24.95 cloth $65.00

to order call: 1-800-842-6796or visit: iupress.indiana.eduread our Blog: iupress.typepad.comsocialize: twitter.com/iupressBecome a fan: facebook.com/iupress

Emancipatory Practices: “Ethnicity” in the Contemporary Creative Industries in Kenya.

Documents

Transcript of Emancipatory Practices: “Ethnicity” in the Contemporary Creative Industries in Kenya.