Contesting the nation

Representations of the Mungiki cult during Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence inKwani?Journal

Bibliographic Data

ID6030254
AuthorsAbenea Odhiambo Ndago (University of the Free State), Abenea Ndago (University of the Free State, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume19
Issue1
Pages63-76
Publication date2021-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrican Identities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1472-5843 • E-ISSN: 1472-5851
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14725843.2020.1790339
OpenAlexW3041516971
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited17

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

Accidental · Aesthetics · Art · Context (archaeology · Criminology · Cult · Depiction · Ethnic group · Ethnic violence · Identity (music · Literature · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · African history and culture studies · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law

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