3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Ethnic or class conflict? : The politics of conflict in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya(2008-10-21T10:56:46Z) Shilaho, Westen Kwatemba GodwinThe aim of this report is to attempt to find out the genesis of the persistent conflict in Kibera informal settlement, Nairobi Kenya. A number of defining factors in Kibera such as religion, ethnicity, economic factors and citizenship are analyzed in an effort to understand the 2001 conflict. One of the salient findings is that Kibera had been a precarious settlement since colonialism and its volatility in post independent Kenya was a perpetuation of what the colonialists established. There is focus on the theories of ethnicity as a prism for interpreting politics of conflict in Kibera. None, however, could adequately account for the 2001 conflict. The conflict defied the drama of monocausal explanations. However, the prebendary brand of politics dominant in Kibera served to entrench poverty while enriching a select few. From both historical and archival information concerning land, land had been under contestation in both colonial and post colonial periods not only in Kibera but also in Kenya as a whole. Lack of political will within successive governments to address the land question in Kibera is one of the leitmotifs of this report. From the analysis of data gathered from the field, it emerged that at the core of the 2001 conflict, was a struggle over land ownership and other resources thereto. Populist politics was largely to blame for the clashes in the area in 2001. The running theme is that as long as there was massive poverty in Kibera, it would be hard to contain persistent tensions in the settlement.Item Examining Women's struggle for visibility in post-independence Africa in Kekelwa Nyaywa's Hearthstones(2006-11-17T06:59:47Z) Shilaho, Westen Kwatemba GodwinThis research report focuses on how Kekelwa Nyaywa, a Zambian novelist has represented Zambian women within a span ranging from the colonial up to the independence period. Within the first chapter, a brief history of the Zambian nation is highlighted and a theoretical framework established. Chapter two engages with Nyaywa’s use of romance to make a commentary on the idea of nationalism. By so doing she redefines the concept of romance which has invariably been associated with ‘frivolity’. The third chapter revolves around Chipembi boarding school which the author uses to feminize key issues in the Zambian society. The pivot of the chapter is that this space is a metaphor for women’s liberation in Zambia. HIV/AIDS fueled by a ‘macho syndrome’ emerges in the fourth chapter as the single biggest threat to Zambian women’s lives. Finally, the conclusion investigates the trends of feminism that the author foregrounds in the book.