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The Resilience of Kipsigis Cultural Values as Reflected in Debates at the County Assembly of Bomet
Get PDFAccumulating evidence suggests that culture has considerable influence on peoples’ behaviour and well-being. This includes the manner in which individuals perceive and respond to adversities in their lives. Culture being a lived experience is often found in peoples’ daily activities such as conversations. When faced with problems, people talk about the best action to take in finding solutions. What they may not realise is that such solutions are derived from their long-held traditions. By examining the conversations at the County Assembly of Bomet, this paper provides examples of how Members of the County Assembly, who have been socialised in the Kipsigis traditions, sharpen their debating strategies using concepts founded on the Kipsigis way of life. The choice of the County Assembly was based on the idea that the place is a site of linguistic activity; Members converge to debate about the actions to take in order to solve some particular crises with the singular goal of improving the lives of the electorate. Examining the utterances of these leaders can help us in understanding how the larger Kipsigis community understand suffering and adversity and the strategies of overcoming them. In particular, the paper examines the ways in which cultural values such as communal life, respect for life and hospitality, which have influenced the Kipsigis way of life, can serve as sources of strength to individuals facing adversity. These cultural values were invoked and used by the debaters to persuade their opponents during the debates. Members of the County Assembly who participate in debating activities do not merely speak; they also perform some actions through their utterances, for example, they direct, declare, request, state, commit, apologise, persuade, and disagree. Their speech acts consist of sequences of interactional exchanges in which speakers justify their positions and challenge those with contrary opinions. The study used Speech Act Theory (Austin 1962; Searle 1969) and Sotillo’s (2017) approach of combining speech act theory with Conversational analysis. The study purposefully sampled three Motions from the Hansard records between 2013 and 2017. Textual analysis was used to collect data. The results showed that the debaters used their knowledge of culture to justify their claims. Since debating is a problem-solving activity, the cultural values that were invoked were those that increase people’s ability to cope with obstacles and hardships in everyday life. The study contributes to existing knowledge on the role of cultural values in overcoming challenges in life
Lawyers and Vice in the Public Sphere: Exploring the Problem of Ethics amongst Legal Practitioners in Kenya
Get PDFThe Kenyan public sphere witnessed a surge in dominance by legal practitioners, especially with the commencement of the agitation for political reform in the early 1990s. The surge saw legal practitioners take on important roles in the public sphere, either as actors in key public institutions or opinion shapers in public discourses. However, the rise in dominance of the practitioners did not translate into improved ethics within the sphere. This paper explores factors which may have contributed to this situation. It does so in three main ways. First, it undertakes a brief review of literature on ethics in the legal profession. Secondly, it examines the study of ethics in the legal profession in order to provide working definitions for concepts such as law, rule of law, morality, ethics and moral relativism and to draw attention to important questions with regard to the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of ethics and legal practice. Thirdly, the paper uses evidence mainly sourced from newspaper accounts to cite specific cases of legal practitioners engaging in activities which breach stated ethical codes, such as conflict of interest, not disclosing financial compensation and moral relativism. The paper draws out two main recommendations for improving ethics within the legal profession, especially in its interaction with the public sphere. First, it suggests that claims made by legal practitioners with regard to the rule of law be thoroughly interrogated from an ethical perspective to distinguish them from personal, political and commercial interests. Secondly, it proposes that legal training be grounded on a curriculum centred on ethics. This should produce legal practitioners with a broad view of ethical questions, which may not only help in understanding legal ethics, but also in promoting the same in the profession
Collapsing Seams: The Search for Truth as an Ethical Obligation in the Montage of Voices in Country of My Skull and The Cry of Winnie Mandela
Get PDFThe dismantling of apartheid in South Africa inspired hope that it was possible to build a new inclusive society and to cast into oblivion the deformed way of living in the apartheid past. The post-apartheid period has witnessed attempts to collapse the racial and cultural seams created during apartheid in an endeavour to heal the sutures visible on the body of the nation. Post-apartheid South African literature has plunged into this grand undertaking through spearheading the search for truth as an ethical obligation. This paper uses Antjie Krog’s Country of My Skull and Njabulo Ndebele’s The Cry of Winnie Mandela to interrogate the extent to which ethical aspirations are negotiated in post-apartheid literature. Paying attention to memory as baggage, as manifested in the specially created institution known as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the paper strives to uncover the montage of voices in the narrative nested within the historical ambiguity generated by the attempt to move away from apartheid while at the same time succumbing to the past while attempting to find closure. Inscribing the position and the authority of the narrative in the representation of key historical events, in this particular case, how histories of the South African nation are symbolically tied to and in the narrative, the paper pursues two interrelated objectives. Firstly, it establishes the role that personal narratives and testimonies play in the (re)construction of truth pertaining to the South African past. Secondly, it uncovers the ambiguities between the personal narrative and the collective narrative as represented in testimonies. Emphasising on the limits of the narrative in terms of duplicity, the paper figures how significant histories and testimonies of the TRC have been mediated in Krog’s memoir and in Ndebele’s quasi-historical novel to explain how memory is shaped through testimony, and how, conversely, testimony relies on memory to negotiate the search for truth and authenticity. In revising the past as an ethical obligation for the present in the narrative, this paper uses Paul Ricoeur, Hannah Arendt and Tzvetan Todorov to reflect on the contestations on symbolic histories that render ethical pursuits ambiguous, as “truth”, “good”, and “evil” become contestable. The paper concludes by appraising how the texts attempt to gesture towards the acceptance of an “ethics of compromise” in its appeal to pragmatic truth for the South African community
Interpreting Embu-Mbeere Politics through the lens of Sibling Rivalry, 1906–2021
Get PDFBefore the advent of colonialism, ethnicity in Africa was fluid and negotiable. However, the colonial state labelled and concretised the various ethnic groups, highlighting their divergences rather than convergences. In the then Embu Division, the Embu and Mbeere communities with perceived commonalities and a shared past, fell into the trap of colonial stereotyping of “progressive Embu” and “good Mbeere versus bad Embu”, which the two ethnic groups held with a certain degree of animosity. Since the establishment of colonialism in the region in 1906, the two “siblings” have tended to emphasise their distinctiveness, which was initially propelled by the colonial policy of “divide-and-rule” but was later amplified by local “big men”. Consequently, a complex web of emotions arose in interpersonal contexts, creating jealousy and rivalry among siblings which were cheered on by a “beloved parent"—the colonial government. Similarly, socio-economic development in contemporary Embu County is influenced by ethnicity, though Kenyan leaders have routinely treated ethnicity as a hindrance to modernity. Ethnic competition has continued in the devolved government of Embu County, which was uniquely the first to call for the impeachment of its governor. This article draws from a PhD project conducted between 2019 and 2021 using archival data and involving 59 informants. The research employed the transactional model of sibling jealousy theory to analyse how the Embu and Mbeere construct and deconstruct each other through selective memories and histories, influencing their claims and access to resources. The implications of these dynamics are particularly evident in the contested politics and socio-economic transactions within Embu County
Unravelling the Barriers to Compliance with Regulations Governing Milk Trade in Peri-urban Areas of Nakuru County, Kenya
Get PDFMilk is a widely traded commodity in informal outlets in Kenya for home consumption and income generation. Over 70% of the Kenya’s domestic milk production is marketed through informal outlets, which are characterised by poor hygiene standards and unsafe handling practices. This is despite efforts to regulate the markets through licensing, registration, certification and training of milk vendors on food quality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify barriers to compliance with regulations governing milk trade and to suggest improvements. The study design was snowball sampling, and 120 informal milk vendors were interviewed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative analysis used thematic narratives and excerpts while averages were used for quantitative results. Both approaches found out that 62.5% of vendors considered the regulator (i.e. the Kenya Dairy Board) a barrier to their compliance with the standard regulations. Vendors also noted that regulations ignored local situational realities, making compliance impractical. It is therefore important to come up with milk trade regulations informed by vendor engagement so as to capture local contexts. There is also need to conduct active sensitisation campaigns targeting milk vendors so as to enhance their understanding of food standard regulations. Such efforts would benefit all stakeholders involved in the milk industry by promoting safety, quality and consumer confidence
Enhancing Students’ Motivation to Learn Chemistry through use of Mastery 5Es Constructivist Teaching Approach
Get PDFThis study investigated the effects of using Mastery 5Es constructivist teaching approach on enhancing students’ motivation to learn secondary school chemistry in Rongai Sub-County, Kenya. The performance in chemistry at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) level in the Sub-County has been low and continues to decline over the years. Quasi experimental research was employed where Solomon Four Non-Equivalent Control Group Design was used. The target population was all secondary school students in Rongai Sub-County with the school as the sampling unit. The accessible population was all form two students in co-educational schools. A sample of 303 students was involved. Students’ Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) was used to collect data. The instrument was pilot tested to ascertain the reliability. Reliability coefficient α obtained was 0.701 and was accepted as it meets the threshold of 0.70. Experts ascertained the validity of SMQ. Data was analyzed using t-test, ANOVA and ANCOVA. The hypothesis was accepted or rejected at significant level of 0.05. The findings of this study indicated that M5EsA led to increased students’ motivation to learn chemistry
Dialogic Re-construction of COVID-19 Messaging through Animation and Popular Music
Get PDFWe critically evaluate how selected popular music and animation art were used to effectively communicate about COVID-19 to mitigate its effect when it became apparent the disease was shaping into a pandemic on a global scale. Our interest is how far popular music and animation succeeded in playing a role in passing across COVID-19 message more effectively, and more persuasively to influence the right attitude towards the public to adopt the World Organisation (WHO) recommended prevention protocol including social distancing, hand washing and use of face mask. The study relied on aspects of communication theory, specifically Persuasion and Mikhail Bakhtin’s ideas on Semiotics to appreciate the artistic techniques employed by popular musicians and animation artists to efficiently communicate the COVID-19 message to the widest audience. The Bakhtinian concepts of dialogism (polyphony), heteroglosia, diegesis and double-voicing guided the teasing out of the key strategies that made the artistic works communicate in a persuasive way to re-shape attitude towards the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the purpose of the study to contribute towards an understanding about how popular music and animation cartoons contributed to effectively messaging about COVID-19 and their success in persuading the public to comply with policy about hand washing, social distancing and mask wearing. The guiding research question was: what artistic strategies employed in cartoons and popular music makes the genres effective mediums of reinforcing the message about health policy compliance in contexts such as COVID-19 pandemic? The study’s findings will be useful for public health policy makers, NGOs, health professional, public administrators, educational practitioners and policy makers in planning decisions about promotion strategies and public health campaigns
A Study of Photorealistic Scenic Design Concepts in two Nigerian University Theatre Performances
Get PDFScenic design is considered as one of the most significant technical elements in the theatre that can shape the quality of performances, especially on stage. Its realisation involves an agglutination of both physical and atmospheric environment suitable for actors during performance. However, the relevance of conventional set design is being questioned in the contemporary theatre due to the changing nature of designs. The paper discusses the deployment of scenic design in two selected performances: Sam Ukala’s Iredi War and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The two performances were produced recently by Departments of Theatre and Media Arts, Ekiti State University (EKSU) and Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) both in Nigeria. There was the use of qualitative research methods and investigative tools of structured and unstrucured oral interviews to collect data which serve as the primary source. The paper, in addition, reviews the relevant literature. The paper also adopts of Louis K. Meisel’s Photorealism for theoretical framework. The paper conludes that although the scenic concepts for the plays in consideration are different, their creative deployment with the peculiar styles of the scenic artists played crucial roles in projecting the meanings that are embedded in the performances
Effects of Social Constructivist Teaching and Learning Approach on Learners` Academic Achievement in English among Public Co-educational Secondary School in Njoro Sub-County, Kenya
Get PDFEnglish is a career subject that is offered as a compulsory subject to all secondary school learners in Kenya. English language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and it is the official language of many countries. Despite its importance, secondary school learners still perform unsatisfactorily in the subject. The three English language papers tested, Paper Two, which tests in part reading comprehension and grammar, is not well performed at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) level. This unsatisfactory performance may be attributed to many factors, among them use of unproductive teaching approaches. The core objective of the study was to determine whether there is a difference in academic achievement scores between day secondary school learners taught the English language using Social Constructivist Teaching and Learning Approach (SCTLA) and those taught using the conventional teaching approaches. A quasi-experimental research design, the Solomon Four Non-Equivalent group design was used. The target group comprised 5390 Form Two learners while the accessible population was 181 Form Two English language learners in the four public co-educational secondary schools in Njoro subcounty. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the four co-educational secondary schools which provided the sample size for the study. The instruments used in the study were the English Achievement Test (EAT) and the Social Constructivist Teaching and Learning Module (SCTLM). Experts drawn from the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management at Egerton University validated the research instruments. They ascertained the face validity of the items to be used in the instruments. Piloting of the instruments was carried out to ascertain the content validity of the items to determine their functionality. The reliability of English Achievement Test (EAT) was determined by inter-rater reliability approach with experienced English language teachers who are trained markers of English Paper Two at the national level scoring the EAT. The data collected were analyzed using t-test, one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA. The level of significance for acceptance and rejection of the hypothesis was at alpha (α) equals to 0.05 using the SPSS post 2015 (IBM) version. The study findings contribute to the existing knowledge on the effects of Social constructivism on learners’ academic achievement in the learning of English language. The theoretical framework that guided this study was based on Piaget’s Constructivist Theory which states that learning is attained through construction (Piaget, 1977).
 
Historian on the Margins: Aggrey Indimuli Anduuru and the Invention of Ebunyole History
Get PDFModernity has substantially altered the social structures and ways of knowing for the AbaNyole of Western Kenya.2 The rise of Rev. Aggrey Anduuru to the position of contemporary custodian of community popular history, is a remarkably paradoxical consequence thereof. Both this office and the possibility of Rev. Anduuru’s claim to custodianship over such office, ought to have been undermined by the conventional dichotomy between dominant and marginal Nyole clans. How is it possible that the grand narratives that legitimate the Nyole clan hierarchy came to be placed firmly under the control of a man whose clan this hierarchy negates? Based on material gathered ethnographically in Ebunyole, this article departs from the conventional focus on ideologues who have influenced nation state histories to explore the making of a local post-colonial intellectual and the strategies he deploys to negotiate his double marginalisation, first as a Nyole and second as a member of fringe Nyole clans, to position himself at the helm of a community in transformation. The article investigates Rev. Anduuru’s innovative engagement with the community archive, the politics of literacy and the mediation of oral history, and the kinds of history he produced to assert his authority as ‘the’ memory of a post-colonial society in transitio