Neil Carrier

Navigating ethnicity and electoral politics in northern Kenya: the case of the 2013 election

In the 2013 elections, northern Kenya – previously seen as peripheral to national politics – took on great significance as a potential ‘swing’ region, and became the focus of much campaigning and strategizing by presidential and other candidates. It was also seen as a region especially at risk of violence given its history of ethnic politics and the new context of the devolved county system. This paper explores how the norths ethnic dynamics played out in 2013, looking in particular at case studies of three northern counties: Isiolo, Mandera and Marsabit. It traces the history of ethnic politics in these counties, and the strategies used to secure votes in 2013 through strategic alliance formation, exclusionary politics and the anointing of candidates by ‘councils of elders’. While such strategies were not uniformly successful, they led to a remarkable swing to the Jubilee Alliance of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in Mandera. Rutos United Republican Party did especially well in the north, and he appears to have navigated the ethnic and clan politics of the north expertly, playing up his pastoralist background as he did so. While a success for Jubilee, the ethnic strategizing has had serious ramifications, especially in Mandera and Marsabit where exclusion has led to resentment and conflict.

Missing states? Somali trade networks and the Eastleigh transformation

Abstract Since the collapse of the Somali state, Nairobis Eastleigh estate has played host to thousands of Somali refugees and developed from a quiet residential suburb to a major East African commercial hub. This article examines this transformation, arguing that it builds on pre-existing cross border trade networks, as well as diaspora and Kenyan sources of capital, and regional and global processes that intensified in the early 1990s. The Eastleigh story provides a lens through which we trace economic changes associated with Somalias extended statelessness, in particular how connective fabric has been generated and sustained in this stateless period. However, the Eastleigh story is not just one of Somali statelessness, but also of interaction with other states. In particular, this article focuses on the ambiguous relationship of Eastleigh to the Kenyan state, suggesting that Somali business in Eastleigh, although born of a collapsed state and informality, is integrated in various ways into the formal state-regulated sector. Furthermore, Eastleigh businesspeople hope for more Kenyan state involvement in the estate to provide better security and infrastructure, while Somali businesspeople in general long for a viable Somali state that will allow them to invest their capital at home.

Bundles of choice: Variety and the creation and manipulation of Kenyan Khat's value

Abstract This article examines the enormous variety evident in the ‘social life’ of Kenyan khat (miraa) and the role of this variety in the creation and manipulation of value. The article, after a discussion of the literature on value and its relevance to miraa, describes variables used in distinguishing the many different types of miraa, describes how consumers associate themselves with certain varieties and suggests why some varieties are more valued – culturally and economically – than others. The article then looks at the international trade in miraa, and how value is manipulated as exporters – well positioned to exploit different ‘fields of value’ – blend different varieties together to ensure a decent financial reward. It concludes by emphasising that understanding miraa requires an appreciation of its complex particularity.

Illicit livelihoods: drug crops and development in Africa

This article assesses the impact of drugs on agricultural production, trade and livelihoods more broadly by focusing on cannabis and khat in Lesotho, Nigeria and Kenya. It actively engages with research that has recently begun to explore the links between drugs and development in Africa and challenges some of its key assumptions. It argues that based on the available empirical evidence, the causalities between drugs and underdevelopment are not apparent. It proposes a more nuanced understanding of the impact of cannabis and khat, showing how they have provided farmers and entrepreneurs with opportunities not readily available in difficult economic environments.

Reviving Yaaku: Identity and Indigeneity in Northern Kenya

The Mukogodo of Kenya were once hunter-gatherers speaking a Cushitic language. Over the last century, they were absorbed more and more into the orbit of Maa-speaking pastoralists, adopting pastoralism, as well as Maasai culture and language. In the process, use of their former language declined considerably, and today there are only a few surviving elders who have even a limited grasp of it. Also, Maasai cultural dominance has marginalised the old ways of the Mukogodo, still looked down upon by many Maasai and Samburu as il-torrobo, a contemptuous term for hunter-gatherers. However, influenced by global discourses on indigenous rights, conservation and the worth of preserving endangered languages, there is a movement amongst the Mukogodo to revive their language, reconstruct an ethnic identity as ‘Yaaku’, and demand greater rights to the Mukogodo Forest; this movement has recently culminated in the construction of a museum where it is hoped future generations will learn at least something of the old language and way of life. This article traces the fluctuations of Mukogodo language and culture over the last century, especially focusing on this recent revivalist movement and the people, and local, national and international politics, behind it. It shows how the marginality of the Mukogodo and their old ways and language can be turned to advantage, as being Yaaku and speaking the Yaaku language become major resources in a poverty-stricken region.

Under any other name: the trade and use of khat in the UK

Kenyan khat arrives in the UK four days a week and much of it, having arrived at Heathrow from Nairobi and been cleared through customs, is delivered by van to a depot in Southall. There it is collected by distributors who speed it on to retailers. It is estimated that around seven tonnes of khat enters the UK each week.

International Development and the Global Drugs Trade

This chapter assesses the links between illicit drugs and development, focussing on cannabis and khat in African countries. We suggest that a received wisdom that ascribes a negative effect to all such substances and their trade should be critiqued. While highlighting the very real threat these substances can have, we argue that based on the available empirical evidence, the causalities between drugs and underdevelopment are not always apparent. We propose a more nuanced understanding of the economic impact of drugs showing how—in certain contexts—drugs have provided farmers and entrepreneurs with opportunities not readily available in difficult economic environments. Finally, we question whether the drugs themselves or the policy designed to stop them are most harmful.