This book sets out to probe, explore, and evaluate the betrayal of
nationalism in Kenya. Contemporary Kenya's emergence is rooted in the
colonial enterprise, its deleterious effects, and the subsequent
decolonization spearheaded by a fierce anti-colonial nationalism that
was embodied in the Mau Mau war. As a settler colony, the colonial
settlers hived off millions of hectares of the best land in the highland
areas of Kenya and appropriated them for themselves thereby generating a
large mass of the landless. This land alienation constituted one of the
most deeply felt grievances which, together with the exclusivist,
exploitative, and oppressive colonial system, inflamed anti-colonial
nationalism that undergirded the struggle for independence. The
expectation on the part of the masses was that independence will bring
about social justice, restitution of the stolen lands, and a government
based on the will and aspirations of the governed. Political
developments soon after independence, however, demonstrated the extent
of betrayal of the cause of anti-colonial nationalism, which has
remained the reality to date. This book covers the extent of this sense
of betrayal from the time of independence to the present. It begins by
locating contemporary Kenya within the colonial context then proceeds to
thematic issues of betrayal including the fall out between President
Kenyatta and Vice President Odinga over ideology and issues of
development, which constituted the first betrayal; the scourge of
bureaucratic corruption and rent seeking; the question of land and
associated historical injustices; and electoral malpractice since the
return of multiparty politics in 1992 to the most recent elections of
2017. The implications of these dynamics for the future of the Kenyan
polity are delineated and discussed.
