Contesting the nation: representations of the Mungiki cult during Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence in Kwani? Journal

Abstract

ABSTRACT Two issues of Kwani? Journal published in 2008 foreground the Mungiki cult in different modes. The cult identifies with the Kikuyu community and is associated with Kenya’s 2007/2008 Post-Election Violence (PEV). Narrating national violence forms part of how postcolonial nations imagine themselves. And yet past research ignores the Mungiki cult’s discourses in Kwani?’s publications. Drawing from popular culture theory, and recognising ethnic violence as an aspect of Kenya’s socio-political context, this article examines the way Kwani? Journal portrays the Mungiki cult’s violence during Kenya’s contested 2007 elections. The paper finds out whether the depiction is accidental or intentional by also referring to two Mungiki texts published in Kwani? before and after the election violence. I discuss the implications of such portrayal and its impact in the imaginaries on identity and national belonging in Kenya.