LANDS of LEISURE: RECREATION, SPACE, and the STRUGGLE for URBAN KENYA, 1900-2000 by Caleb Edwin Owen
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LANDS OF LEISURE: RECREATION, SPACE, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR URBAN KENYA, 1900-2000 By Caleb Edwin Owen A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of History-Doctor of Philosophy 2016 ABSTRACT LANDS OF LEISURE: RECREATION, SPACE, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR URBAN KENYA, 1900-2000 By Caleb Edwin Owen The movement of people to cities has been a significant trend in the recent history of Africa; in the year 2000, the urban population in Africa superseded the rural. African cities are nonetheless underrepresented and misunderstood in historical scholarship. The predominant narrative of the city and urban life, particularly in the post-colonial context, has been one of impoverishment, social disjuncture, and state failure. My dissertation challenges this metanarrative, highlighting how non-elite Kenyan actors, through their struggles for public parks, playgrounds, and other spaces of leisure, had a stake in urban life and contributed to the production of the city. This dissertation highlights the role of recreation as a governing and community interest that shaped the development of urban policy and land use in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya’s two largest cities. Through allocation of land for clubs, the state affirmed its authority as an arbitrator of multiple interests and constituencies. During the 1940s and 1950s, the state, viewing African boredom as a cause of social delinquency, promoted the development of new spaces of leisure— social halls, playing fields, and public gardens. Rather than reaffirming the state’s position as the paternalistic guardian of African interests, these spaces were sites of social and cultural negotiation between urban Kenyans and colonial welfare officers. By independence, Kenyans recognized playgrounds, parks, and other recreational amenities as fundamental requisites of city life, connecting them with ideas of propriety, legitimacy, and dignity. My dissertation chronicles the struggles of urban Kenyans for recreational spaces in the midst of competing demands for urban space, extension of state authority, and the social effects of privatization and neoliberalism. My dissertation makes at least three contributions to historical literature. First, it calls attention to the capacity of non-elite actors to shape the physical production of urban environments, challenging the presumed dominance of ruling-class interests and capital. While Africans’ perspectives on land use and environmental practice have been prominent themes in African historiography, it is less understood how Africans contributed to the built environments of cities. I highlight how non-elite Africans’ concerns, interests, and activities shaped the work of urban planners and contributed to the changing physical landscape of the city. Secondly, my work shows how recreation shaped state policy, calling attention to alternative governing concerns of African states, beyond control of capital and resources. Finally, this work calls attention to previously underexplored relationships between matters of leisure and cultural production and the history of built environments in Africa. Rather than distinguishing cultural concerns of sports, dances, and cinema from material struggles over land and housing, my dissertation integrates these issues, highlighting how Africans’ pursuit of leisure shaped—and was shaped by—competing claims for land. Copyright by CALEB EDWIN OWEN 2016 This thesis is dedicated to Ronia Grace Owen v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project has undergone many changes since I began fieldwork in July 2015. My original proposal was to study elite clubs and golf courses as sites of Africanization, cultural production, and nationalism. When this particular research stalled, I began having discussions with working class Kenyans, who expressed to me their perspectives and concerns regarding access to recreational space. While the types of spaces they enjoyed were of a substantially different form than the country clubs and golf courses I had intended to focus on, their perspectives highlighted that access to places to play was not a demand specific to Kenya’s elite establishment, rather one that cut across distinctions of race, ethnicity, class, religion, and gender. My hope for this dissertation is to call attention to playgrounds, parks, and other lands of leisure as an integral part of Kenyans’ experiences and expectations for city life. Many people and organizations shaped the development of this project. I received funding for my research from a Department of Education, Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Grant, as well as additional financial support from Michigan State University’s Graduate School and Department of History. In a period in which funding for area studies has been in steady decline, graduate students at Michigan State have continued to enjoy success in competitive grants through the expertise of Doctors David Wiley and Roger Bresnahan, as well as the university’s vibrant Foreign Language and Area Studies programs. I am grateful to the people and government of Kenya for allowing me to reside and conduct research in their country. My project would not have been possible without the generosity of my many respondents who not only shared their time with me, but also meals, cups of tea, and bottles of soda. It was their stories, aspirations, and pastimes that most shaped the vi ideas of this study. My research and interpretations were also informed by my discussions with the faculty of the Department of History and Archelogy at the University of Nairobi, particularly their department chairperson Doctor Ephraim Wahome. The kindness and professionalism of the staff of the Kenyan National Archives, National Museums of Kenya, and the Anglican Church of Kenya, made my work there both productive and enjoyable. I owe particular thanks to Mr. Richard Abani and Ms. Immelda Kithuka, who directly worked to accommodate my copious interests and requests. My work in Kenya greatly benefited from the personal relationships and friendships that I developed there. Doctor Kimani Njogu was an early supporter of my research and helped me to connect my interests in leisure with political questions of land. I first met Mr. Athman Lali Omar in 2008, when I was his student at the School of International Training in Mombasa. His expansive knowledge and graciousness has been a huge asset to me over the years as I developed my intellectual interests in East Africa. During my many visits to Mombasa, I always look forward to dinners and visits with Said and Sauda, my 2008 homestay family. I will be forever indebted to Doctors Donna and Odoch Pido, as well as their son Onek. In addition to their informative advice on conducting research in Nairobi, they guided me through the intricacies of Luo marriage customs. Finally, my time in Kenya was enhanced by my many discussions and intellectual debates with my flat mate and comrade in the field Mr. Devin Smart. Over the duration of my research, I had the opportunity to work with a number of resourceful and knowledgeable research assistants, Mr. Paul Abonyo Odhiambo, Mr. Khalfan Suleman, Ms. Amira M. Said, and Mr. Donald Romtu. Paul particularly influenced the development of this project. We began working together in October 2013 and Paul has continued to shape my work, periodically contributing new information, clarifying details, and feedback. vii More importantly, however, Paul has also become a wonderful friend, even standing as my best man during my wedding. I also formed close relationships with a number of local taxi drivers, particularly Ms. Eunice Wairimu and Mr. Paul Wanjau, who transported me to various research sites within Nairobi. In addition to providing me with dependable transportation services, they were welcome sources of conversation, humor, and insights. In addition to my relationships in Kenya, I have been fortunate to have been a part of a vibrant intellectual community at Michigan State University. Professor Laura Fair was the person who first introduced me to African history when I was still an undergraduate at the University of Oregon. I am grateful for the opportunity to have followed her to East Lansing where she has been both a wonderful advisor and true friend to me over the years. My other guidance committee members, Professors Walter Hawthorne, Emine Evered, and Mara Leichtman, have also each shaped my intellectual development, introducing me to concepts, methodologies, and regions outside of my initial comfort zones. I have also continued to benefit from the support and advice of my former mentors at the University of Oregon, particularly Professors Lindsay Braun and Lisa Gilman. Both Lindsay and Lisa pushed me to advance my studies in graduate school and have been steadfast advocates of my professional development since. Michigan State University hosts one of the world’s most thriving African Studies Centers, directed initially by Professor James Pritchett and currently by Professor Jamie Monson. Both have been steadfast advocates of graduate studies and have made the African Studies Center a focal point of intellectual life on campus. The success of African Studies at Michigan State University owes much to the energy of Doctors John Metzler, Ann Biersteker, and Ms. Lisa Frugé. Language study was also integral to my research and intellectual development; I have had viii the pleasure of working with some outstanding Swahili instructors throughout my graduate training, including Doctors Deo Ngonyani, Jonathan Choti,