The Impact of Colonial Policies on the Waata People of Kilifi County, Kenya, 1895-1963

Peter Wafula Wekesa,Cyprian Kioko Wambua,Susan Mwangi

doi:10.37284/eajis.4.1.508

Peter Wafula Wekesa, Cyprian Kioko Wambua + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.37284/eajis.4.1.508

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Abstract

The Waata community is among the indigenous Kenyan communities whose social, political, and economic organization has not been adequately studied. The objective of the study was to examine the impact of colonial policies on the history of the Waata people of Kilifi County in the period 1895-1963. The study was guided by the cultural interaction and identity formation theory. The study was conducted using the descriptive research design which offered a chronology of events as they unfolded over time. A qualitative approach was significant because it allowed an in-depth collection of data to ascertain the attitudes, feelings, and opinions concerning the theme under study. The study site was Kilifi County. The study targeted both males and females above 18 years within Kilifi County who were knowledgeable about the existence of the Waata people. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were used to select the sample for the study. One hundred and twenty-two participants were interviewed. The study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was derived from the one-on-one interaction with participants using interview schedules and Key Informant Interviews, oral interviews, and focus group discussions. Question guides and questionnaires with open-ended responses were also used. Secondary data was obtained from critical analysis of books, articles, papers, thesis, and dissertations. Additionally, archival sources, particularly colonial documents, annual reports, correspondents, letters, diaries, and political record books related to the area under study were consulted. The findings of the study revealed that colonial policies impacted significantly on the history of the Waata forcing them to adapt to different lifestyles in order to survive cultural extinction. This adaptation was informed by the colonial labelling of traditional hunting communities like the Waata as poachers and the progressive government efforts to stop them from their traditional source of livelihood as well as their eviction from their indigenous habitats and creation of National Parks.

Highlights

The Waata people of Kilifi County are one of the Kenyan hunter-gatherer communities whose socioeconomic and political life has undergone a series of changes in response to the colonial policies
This study focused on investigating the impacts of colonial policies on the socio-economic and political institutions of the Waata people in the period 1895 – 1963
This study revealed that the establishment of colonial rule was followed by the setting up of a very exploitative colonial political economy which had an adverse effect on the livelihood of the Waata

Summary

Introduction

The Waata people of Kilifi County are one of the Kenyan hunter-gatherer communities whose socioeconomic and political life has undergone a series of changes in response to the colonial policies. According to Kelbessa (2011), the dispossession of many pastoralist and hunter-gatherer communities in Kenya began in the 1900s with the European settlers alienating large tracts of land formerly belonging to them. This dislocation, massive alienation of African land, and displacement of African communities from their land was necessitated by the colonial political economy. In most if not all communities generally, whatever production that took place required that a part of it be remitted to the house of the head of the community This included part of any harvest whether it was agricultural produce, animal stock for the pastoralists, game meat for the foragers, and trading profits or gifts.

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