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Kenya: A History Since Independence
Since independence in 1963, Kenya has survived five decades as a functioning nation-state, with regular elections, its borders intact, and without experiencing war or military rule. However, Kenya's independence has been circumscribed by its failure to transcend its colonial past: its governments have failed to achieve adequate living conditions for most of its citizens and its politics have been fraught with controversy - illustrated most recently by the post-election violence of 2007-8. The decisions of the early years of independence and the acts of its leaders in the decades since - from Jomo Kenyatta, Tom Mboya, and Oginga Odinga to Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga - have changed the country's path in unpredictable ways, but key themes of conflicts remain: over land, ethnicity, money, power, national autonomy and the distribution of resources. The political elite's endless struggle for access to state resources has damaged Kenya's economy and the political exploitation of ethnicity still threatens the country's stability. In this definitive new history, Charles Hornsby demonstrates how independent Kenya's politics have been dominated by a struggle to deliver security, impartiality, efficiency and growth, but how the legacies of the past have undermined their achievement, making the long-term future of Kenya far from certain.
736 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 6, 2013
Its mine....so I really had to !
February 28, 2013
An incredible book,the daily newspapers and magazines rarely capture the intertwined relationship between economic,politics,history,policy,government,resources,ethnicity and a whole lot of other factors that converge to create this nation we call Kenya. The author traces the roots of present day challenges to pre-independence and articulately weaves together a thoroughly enjoyable and realistic portrayal of Kenya. Charles Hornsby also lays aside simplistic narratives or theories of certain individuals as being intrinsically good or bad and instead describes the context within which certain decisions or policy choices were made.
A riveting book.
A riveting book.
April 18, 2023
Over the years I have read sections of this book, usually for research purposes, but never actually read the entirety of it in one continuous go. The start of the year [circa 2023] I made a resolution to remedy this. It took a lot of discipline to do this. The book is about 800 pages long with one monotone voice reserved usually for Wikipedia entries and the desire for knowledge has to trump the need to get entertained.
The title is self explanatory and the content is what the title sells. The book traces the history of Kenya from pre colonial times up to around 2011. With a timespan of close to a century and carte blanche on what to write about, Hornsby pretty much wrote about everything. The chapters were arranged in a linear time period but the narrative danced around time and one chapter could be about the administration at that time and a few pages later it takes a detour to talk about the state of agriculture during that period, other times he switched to the healthcare state with no clear explanation on why these areas were chosen for further review.
It will be impossible to summarise this book other than to say it was well researched and covered a lot of what could be reasonably expected for a book of its calibre. This is a niche read and can only be recommended to Kenyans or a foreigner being posted there for an engagement. It's a good primer for anyone wanting to learn more about Kenya's history.
I will call out the book though for two shortcomings; one is the flat tone that robs some of this stories of the punch they had when they were told in first person narrative. The story of illegal Chepkube coffee trades was told in passing with a few sentences while if you read first person accounts of the people who were there, it was a rich vein and ministers talked of getting so rich so fast that people whose cars had two exhaust pipes could not sit in the same table with people who only had one. Stories like the 1982 coup were told in a litany of facts which pale in comparison to what the oral narrative out of it conjures up. The content creator Abel Mutua who has a Youtube channel where he narrates select stories from Kenya's history shows how a tale can be told and still have life in it...I guess everyone is different.
The second shortcoming is the book's tendency to look at Kenya with a negative bent, I guess this is expected when a tourist take on the matter is what we get and a kenyan born and bred writer would have taken a different route. The better angels of our nature was ignored and instead we got reams of our sordid past. The task of nation building was monumental and subsequent governments have had a tough time at it and this fact is not acknowledged. Stories of the farmers co-operatives that later turned into huge banks were not told, the bravery and the huge sacrifices paid by innocent Kenya Airforce servicemen in the abortive 1982 coup was not told, our brave sons and daughters who faced the Moi regime and paid dearly got a passing mention. A different history of our nation will be told elsewhere, it will not be a litany of the ills or horse trading between a few characters but rather a lived story of those who came before us. The story of Goldenberg will not only be about the greed of Moi's gang and Patni but also about the bravery one Central Bank employee who blew the whistle on the matter despite the risks. He will be remembered. His name is David Sabera Munyakei and future generations will know that there are people numbered among us whose character is unassailable.....I love my country, I no go lie;. Na inside am I go live and die
The title is self explanatory and the content is what the title sells. The book traces the history of Kenya from pre colonial times up to around 2011. With a timespan of close to a century and carte blanche on what to write about, Hornsby pretty much wrote about everything. The chapters were arranged in a linear time period but the narrative danced around time and one chapter could be about the administration at that time and a few pages later it takes a detour to talk about the state of agriculture during that period, other times he switched to the healthcare state with no clear explanation on why these areas were chosen for further review.
It will be impossible to summarise this book other than to say it was well researched and covered a lot of what could be reasonably expected for a book of its calibre. This is a niche read and can only be recommended to Kenyans or a foreigner being posted there for an engagement. It's a good primer for anyone wanting to learn more about Kenya's history.
I will call out the book though for two shortcomings; one is the flat tone that robs some of this stories of the punch they had when they were told in first person narrative. The story of illegal Chepkube coffee trades was told in passing with a few sentences while if you read first person accounts of the people who were there, it was a rich vein and ministers talked of getting so rich so fast that people whose cars had two exhaust pipes could not sit in the same table with people who only had one. Stories like the 1982 coup were told in a litany of facts which pale in comparison to what the oral narrative out of it conjures up. The content creator Abel Mutua who has a Youtube channel where he narrates select stories from Kenya's history shows how a tale can be told and still have life in it...I guess everyone is different.
The second shortcoming is the book's tendency to look at Kenya with a negative bent, I guess this is expected when a tourist take on the matter is what we get and a kenyan born and bred writer would have taken a different route. The better angels of our nature was ignored and instead we got reams of our sordid past. The task of nation building was monumental and subsequent governments have had a tough time at it and this fact is not acknowledged. Stories of the farmers co-operatives that later turned into huge banks were not told, the bravery and the huge sacrifices paid by innocent Kenya Airforce servicemen in the abortive 1982 coup was not told, our brave sons and daughters who faced the Moi regime and paid dearly got a passing mention. A different history of our nation will be told elsewhere, it will not be a litany of the ills or horse trading between a few characters but rather a lived story of those who came before us. The story of Goldenberg will not only be about the greed of Moi's gang and Patni but also about the bravery one Central Bank employee who blew the whistle on the matter despite the risks. He will be remembered. His name is David Sabera Munyakei and future generations will know that there are people numbered among us whose character is unassailable.....I love my country, I no go lie;. Na inside am I go live and die
October 8, 2019
This is an impressive chronology of post-independence Kenya, and a must-read.
September 19, 2020
An impressive work of scholarship, focusing primarily on Kenya’s political and economic history. But only recommended for people with a strong and deep interest in the subject matter. Anyone else will find reading it a chore.
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July 29, 2021The most comprehensive history of Kenya-- if you need a factual overview of the country's past and present, read this!
January 10, 2023
A great deep dive into the history of pre and post independence Kenya. Must read to anyone interested in knowing the challenges and opportunities for post independent Kenya.
April 18, 2020
I had intended to read the book like a novel. But wait... I took a bit of time to finish the book as I had to write a summary of each chapter.
The book weaves in a brilliant way on Kenyan politics that are inherently different but similarly present in most African countries. Ethnic-based politics. As is in most global South nations, Parties in Kenya are treated the same as personal property since pre-independence to date. On the other hand, Socio-economic Policies are made depending on the whims of the ruling party leadership and most of the time policies are dependent on what is there for the policy maker’s individual pocket (aka bank account).
The book weaves in a brilliant way on Kenyan politics that are inherently different but similarly present in most African countries. Ethnic-based politics. As is in most global South nations, Parties in Kenya are treated the same as personal property since pre-independence to date. On the other hand, Socio-economic Policies are made depending on the whims of the ruling party leadership and most of the time policies are dependent on what is there for the policy maker’s individual pocket (aka bank account).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2012
phew!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews