HISTORICAL REFLECTION OF SELECTED WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE STRUGGLE FOR KENYA’S INDEPENDENCE, 1920-1963 BY OGAMBA ZACHARY OTEKI (KENYATTA UNIVERSITY, BACHELOR OF EDUCATION ARTS) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES, KISII UNIVERSITY NOVEMBER, 2017 DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION DECLARATION This research thesis is my original work and has not been presented in any other University for the award of a degree. Name Signature Date Ogamba Zachary Oteki Reg/No/ MAS11/60056/14 RECOMMENDATION BY THE SUPERVISORS This research proposal has been submitted for examination with our approval as university supervisors. Name Signature Date Dr. Evans Nyamwaka, PhD Department of Humanities Kisii University Name Signature Date Dr. Evans Mecha, PhD Department of Languages and Literature Kisii University ii PLAGIARISM DECLARATION DECLARATION BY STUDENT i. I declare I have read and understood Kisii University Postgraduate Examination Rules and Regulations, and other documents concerning academic dishonesty. ii. I do understand that ignorance of these rules and regulations is not an excuse for a violation of the said rules. iii. If I have any questions or doubts, I realize that it is my responsibility to keep seeking an answer until I understand. iv. I understand I must do my own work. v. I also understand that if I commit any act of academic dishonesty like plagiarism, my thesis/project can be assigned a fail grade (“F”) vi. I further understand I may be suspended or expelled from the university for academic dishonesty. Name__________________________ Signature_____________________ Reg. No____________________________ Date_________________________ DECLARATION BY SUPERVISOR (S) i. I/we declare that this thesis/project has been submitted to plagiarism detection service. ii. The thesis/project contains less than 20% of plagiarized work. iii. I/we hereby give consent for marking. 1. Name__________________________ Signature_____________________ Affiliation ________________________ Date_________________________ 2. Name__________________________ Signature_____________________ Affiliation ___________________________ Date_________________________ 3. Name_____________________________ Signature_____________________ Affiliation ____________________________ Date__________________ iii DECLARATION OF NUMBER OF WORDS FOR MASTERS THESIS Please note at Kisii University Masters and PhD thesis shall comprise a piece of scholarly writing of not more than 20,000 words for the Masters degree and 50 000 words for the PhD degree. In both cases this length includes references, but excludes the bibliography and any appendices. Where a candidate wishes to exceed or reduce the word limit for a thesis specified in the regulations, the candidate must enquire with the Director of Postgraduate about the procedures to be followed. Any such enquiries must be made at least 2 months before the submission of the thesis. Please note in cases where students exceed/reduce the prescribed word limit set out, Director of Postgraduate may refer the thesis for resubmission requiring it to be shortened or lengthened. Name of Candidate: …………… ADM NO……………… Faculty……………………………… Department………… Thesis Title: ………………………………………………………………………………………………… I confirm that the word length of: 1) the thesis, including footnotes, is …………… 2) the bibliography is ……………… and, if applicable, 3) the appendices are ………………………………………… I also declare the electronic version is identical to the final, hard bound copy of the thesis and corresponds with those on which the examiners based their recommendation for the award of the degree. Signed: …………………………………… Date:…………………… (Candidate) I confirm that the thesis submitted by the above-named candidate complies with the relevant word length specified in the School of Postgraduate and Commission of University Education regulations for the Masters and PhD Degrees. Signed: .......................... Email…………..… Tel………………….. Date:…………… (Supervisor 1) Signed: .......................... Email…………….. Tel………………….. Date:…………… (Supervisor 2) iv COPYRIGHT All rights are reserved. No part of this thesis/project or information herein may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author or Kisii University on that behalf. © 2017, Ogamba Zachary Oteki v DEDICATION To my dear Daughter June Zawadi Ogamba and lovely son, Gustavo Mogambi Ogamba and the entire Oteki family. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I wish to thank Kisii University for offering me a chance to pursue my Masters degree. I sincerely extend much thanks to the entire University staff for their moral support and encouragement. Secondly, I acknowledge my able supervisors Dr. Evans Nyamwaka and Dr. Evans Mecha for their dedication and sparing their time to take me through this work. Indeed it took much sacrifice to guide me from scratch to this level. I wish also to thank my dedicated lecturers who saw me through the course work. Their encouragement and advice was inspiring. In the same vein I can’t forget my colleagues in the department of history for the wonderful time we spent together in carrying out this noble venture and more so during group discussions. More importantly, I acknowledge the work done by Mrs Lucy my secretary in the preparation of this document. The effort of Mr. Erick Onyancha in the languages department of Amabuko Secondary School need special acknowledgement for the carefully editorial of this work without which it could not have made the current shape. Special thanks to my mother who always said “Mosombano’nguru (a servant is energetic). This Kisii phrase gave me a lot of courage whenever I faced challenges. I am indeed grateful to my brothers and sisters for their encouragement to yearn for more and work hard in my studies. To those who assisted me and are not mentioned here, may God bless them abundantly. Lastly, thanks goes to my lovely daughter June Zawadi Ogamba and my bouncing son Gustavo Mogambi for their understanding while away and patience during my studies and the final compilation of this document, God bless them all. vii ABSTRACT Women have been known to have played important role in the struggle for independence in the world, yet only men are applauded for this noble venture. There is scanty historical information with regard to women, more especially in Kenya. This study therefore investigated the history of women’s involvement in nationalistic politics and struggle for independence in Kenya; 1920- 1963.It focused on some selected women personalities from Kenya, that is Moraa Ng’iti among the Abagusii, Mekatilili wa Menza among the Giriama, Muthoni wa Gachie, Field Marshal, Muthoni Kirima, Virginia Wambui all among the Agikuyu, Taibagoi Bartiony among the Talai of the Nandi, and Sutunewa Kithuke among the Akamba. This study examined the position played by these selected women in the struggle for self-government in Kenya, how these women saw the Kenyan situation during the years of colonialism and liberation struggle. This study also unmasked the reasons behind Kenyan womens’ participation in the struggle for independence and finally their level of involvement during the struggle for independence in Kenya. This study was guided by the feminist theory because of the existence of gender parity in most of the African nations. The study covered the entire country on selected women who participated for Kenya’s liberation struggle. The study employed both qualitative and descriptive research designs. This study was library based more particularly but also oral interview information which was very useful was obtained from the field on Kenyan women involvement in the nationalistic struggle in Kenya, 1920-1963. On carrying out this study, purposive sampling was used because it had the required information with respect to this study. This study used questionnaires with closed and open-ended questions which were used to source data that was analysed and chi- square analysis was used to test whether Kenyan women really participated in the political liberation. This study found out that women acted as armed combatants, suppliers, spies, managed local operations, and also participated in oath taking. The findings from this study will be used to provide useful information for further research on women’s roles in shaping the political landscape of our country. The findings also will give very useful information towards achieving gender equity in our country and even the entire of Africa which has lagged behind on women issues, and for policing on gender inequalities on the global scene. Finally, the findings will assist in propelling women towards leadership roles who have been neglected for a long time due to the prevailing patriarchal structures in most of African countries. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION........................................................................................................................... ii PLAGIARISM DECLARATION............................................................................................... iii DECLARATION OF NUMBER OF WORDS FOR MASTERS THESIS ............................ iv COPYRIGHT ................................................................................................................................ v DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................