The Historical Process of Nandi Movement into the Uasin Gishu District of the Kenya Highlands

158 Pages·2016·4.63 MB·English

THE HISTORICAL PROCESS OF NANDI MOVEMENT
INTO UASIN GISHU DISTRICT OF THE KENYA
HIGHLANDS: 1906-1963
BY
ABRAHAM KIBET ARAP LAGA T
UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI LIBRARY
A Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfilment For The Degree of Master of ARTS
In The University of Nairobi, Department of History, 1995
nirri. ARATION
other University.
work and has not been presented for a degree in any
s Thesis is my original
ABRAHAM KIBET ARAP LAGAT.
Thesis has *en s— for «— “ 3 “ ^
DR. MACHARIA MUNENE
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................ii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..............................................................................................................vii
ABBREVIATIONS..........................................................................................................................viii
MAPS................................................................................................................................................ xi
CHAPTER ONE
PRELIMINARIES OF THE STUDY
......................................................................1
1:0.
.......................................................4
1:1.
i •? ..................................................................5
...............................................................6
1 ••
11 ..‘At. ........................................................... 14
....................................................... 16
1 . J •
.................................................... 17
1.0.
....................................................... 19
CHAPTER TWO
NANDI PRE-COLONIAL HISTORY
................................21
'zj.-un«
................................21
Z. i «
...................................23
'Zl :•Z'l. rormauon and C/xpaiijiuii ui me l^auui ..........................................
................................30
1.5. oOClO-JrOllUCai urgaillbauuii ui uic ...........................................................
...........................34
2:4.
in
1:5. Pre-colonial Economic Organization.......................................................................................38
Notes........................................................................................................................................43
CHAPTER THREE
THE MIGRATION OF NANDI SQUATTER COMMUNITY: 1906-1918.
3 :0. Squatter System.......................................................................................................................48
3:1. Land Alienation Among The Nandi........................................................................................50
3:2. Factors Behind Nandi Migration ..........................................................................................52
3:3. Early Squatter Recruitment......................................................................................................54
3:4. Kaffir Farming...................................: .............................................................'...................57
3:5. The Other Squatters In White Highlands ............................................................................59
Notes........................................................................................................................................61
CHAPTER FOUR
NANDI SQUATTERS AND SETTLERS: 1918-1937
4:0. The 1918 Resident Labourers Ordinance................................................................................64
4:1. Further Squatter Legislation.....................................................................................................68
4:2. Squatters And Settlers..............................................................................................................71
4:3. The Nandi Squatters Status in Inter-War Period..................................................................73
4:4. Settlers And Squatter Stock ..................................................................................................75
Notes.......................................................................................................................................81
CHAPTER FIVE
CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NANDI SQUATTER WELFARE: 1937-1954.
5:0. The 1937 Resident Native Labourers Ordinance..................................................................84
5:1. Uasin Gishu District Council And Squatter..........................................................................85
iv
Notes 101
CHAPTER SIX
INDEPENDENCE BARGAIN AND THE NANDI SQUATTERS IN UASIN GISHU 1955-1963.
5:0. Mau Mau and Its Aftermath...................................................................................................105
5:1. Swynnerton Plan and Nandi Squatters................................................................................107
6:2. Nandi Leaders Response to the Elimination of Squatter Stock......................................... 110
6:3. District Council And Elimination of Squatter Stock...............................................................Ill
6:4. Decolonization Politics and Land Question.................................................................... 118
Notes.........................! ..................................................................................................... 124
CHAPTER SEVEN
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 129
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(i) Primary.................................................................................................................................... 1^8
(ii) Secondary .............................................................................................................................. ^
GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................. 146
v
ABSTRACT
This study reconstructs the history of Nandi squatter labourers in Uasin Gishu district of
lenya between 1906 and 1963. It portrays the conflict and contradictions of a colonial situation. The
najor players were the squatters, the colonial state and the European settlers.
By impinging on Nandi socio-economic institutions, the colonial administration subjected the
Sandi to specific demands. These included the alienation of their land, creation of a reserve and
taxation. The colonial presence was also an important element in the consolidation of the once
divergent Bororiosiek into a homogeneous Nandi society.
The thesis shows that the Nandi, though severely constrained, were not disheartened by
colonial land alienation. Deprived of their vital grazing land and salt licks, they resourcefully
exploited other survival opportunities in squatterdom.
It is finally suggested that aspects of underdevelopment of the Nandi squatters by the settlers,
supported by the colonial government, was common in the whole process of squatterdom. The
various Legislations ordering for the elimination of squatter stock was a means of underdeveloping
the Nandi squatters whose cattle were a symbol of wealth and development. The white settlers
represented the capitalist development which underdeveloped the squatters by eliminating their stock
and limiting the land for cultivation. This study thus hinges on the framework of underdevelopment
theory.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is the culmination of one year of research into Nandi squatter labourers in Uasin
}ishu district of the Kenya Highlands in the period 1906-1963. The initial undertaking owes much
a the support, encouragement and intellectual stimulation given by my supervisor, Dr. Macharia
vlunene of the University of Nairobi. His constructive and stimulating criticism of the earlier drafts
s highly appreciated.I am also grateful to the University of Nairobi who without their financial
support, I would not have carried out the study effectively.
I am greatly indebted also to the Kenya National Archives staff and to the many officials in
the other libraries and archives I consulted who so patiently assisted me in locating documents. I
wish to thank my various informants who willingly took time from their busy schedules to be
interviewed. The data thus gathered has been vital in the writing of this thesis. I would also like to
thank Abraham Sirma and John Mutai who assisted me in the fieldwork research as research
assistants. Miss Dorcas Samoei typed the whole manuscript. I am very grateful for her patience and
good work.
Finally, special thanks are due to my parents for their generous encouragement throughout
my studies. However, the responsibility for any errors or distortions in this thesis is entirely mine.
ABBREVIATIONS
DC: District Commissioner
DO: District Officer
5 A LB: East Africa Literature Bureau
EAPH: East Africa Publishing House
KLB: Kenya Literature Bureau
HAK: Historical Association of Kenya
KNA: Kenya National Archives
PC: Provincial Commissioner
RVP: Rift Valley Province
NDI: Nandi District
UG: Uasin Gishu District
NDAR: Nandi District Annual Report
LAB: Labour
HMSO: His Majesty’s Stationary Office
OUP: Oxford University Press
UP: University Press
NZA: Nyanza
CO: Colonial Office
ACTS: African Centre for Technology Studies
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X
Location Of District
Map showing the location of Lias in Gish u District
in Kenya. Ministry of Planning and National
Development, 19S9.