Remembering the 1998 Nairobi Terror Attack: Cultural and Trauma Memory and the Reconciliation of a Nation
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Remembering the 1998 Nairobi Terror Attack: Cultural and Trauma Memory and the Reconciliation of a Nation Ivan Kiprop Lagat Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of East Anglia School of World Art Studies and Museology Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas May 2014 © This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognize that its copyright rests with the author and that use of any information derived there from must be in accordance with current UK Copyright Law. In addition, any quotation or extract must include full attribution. Dedication In loving memory of my mother To my wife and children 2 Abstract At around 10:30 am on 7th August, 1998, a truck was stopped as it approached the rear entrance of the U.S. embassy building in Nairobi, instigating a brief argument and confrontation between the 'Arab-looking' men in the truck and the embassy guards. This led to a shoot-out between them before a powerful explosion completely tore down half of the embassy while the entire Ufundi Cooperative Building next to it collapsed to the ground. The site of the embassy and its adjacent streets were in a total state of chaos. In the aftermath of the attack 218 people were declared dead, over 5000 injured and property worth billions of Kenyan shillings destroyed. The bombing remains one of the worst terror attacks to have happened on Kenyan soil. Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terror group, through a proxy, (the Liberation Army for the Islamic Sanctuary), claimed responsibility. In their reportage of the rescue effort, the Kenyan media took what has been perceived as an ethnically inclined coverage by focussing on two Kikuyu victims, Rose Wanjiku and Sammy Nganga, as the most victimized; portrayed as the paragons of a reckless act of terrorism. This study, therefore, focuses on August 7th 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi and argues that the memories of the attack are constructed and mediated through visual and performance art. These memories are utilized in the management of trauma and the promotion of reconciliation in a post-terrorism situation in Kenya. An examination of ethnicity reveals its perversity and its threat to Kenya’s tenuous nationalism and identity. The recent attack on Westgate Shopping Mall, on 21st September, 2013, and the ongoing Islamic radicalisation of youth in Kenya, means that the narrative of this study has continual resonance. 3 List of Contents Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………….2 Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 List of Contents……………………………………………………………………………….4 List of Tables……………………….………………………………………………………... 7 List of Figures……………………….…………………………………………..…………... 8 Preface: Bomb Blasts: A Personal Encounter ....................................................................................... 11 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 17 Part I: Research Context and Methodology………………………………………………………. 17 1.1.1. The Setting: Why Nairobi? ............................................................................................... 17 1.1.2. Research Context .............................................................................................................. 21 1.1.3. Research Question ............................................................................................................ 22 1.1.4. Research Methodology ..................................................................................................... 23 1.1.5. Ethical Questions .............................................................................................................. 26 Part II: Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 27 Part III: Conceptual Frameworks ...................................................................................................... 32 Part IV: Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 2: Historical Perspectives to Memorial Monuments in Kenya ................................................ 46 Part I: The Nairobi Terror Attack ..................................................................................................... 46 Part II: Monuments and Memorials – A Historical Background ...................................................... 53 2.2.1. The Nairobi War Memorial ............................................................................................. 56 2.2.2. The Kolowa Massacre Memorial ..................................................................................... 59 2.2.3. The Nyeri Memorial ........................................................................................................ 61 2.2.4. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 65 Part III: Towards the Establishment of the August 7th Memorial Park and Documentation Centre . 70 2.3.1. Towards the Inscription of the Memories ..................................................................... 70 2.3.2. The Memorial Fountain ................................................................................................ 75 2.3.3. The Memorial Wall of Names ...................................................................................... 76 2.3.4. Indigenous Trees ........................................................................................................... 78 2.3.5. The Sculpture: ‘Mind, Body and Spirit’ ....................................................................... 79 4 2.3.6. The Inauguration ........................................................................................................... 81 2.3.7. The Documentation Centre ........................................................................................... 82 Part IV. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 83 Chapter 3: The August 7th Memorial Park: Memories and Commemorations……………………….84 3.0. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 84 Part I: Heritageization of Memory .................................................................................................... 85 3.1.1. The Documentation Centre ........................................................................................... 96 3.1.2. Construction and Transmission of Bomb-blast Memories .......................................... 100 Part II: The Commemorations .................................................................................................... 104 3.2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 104 3.2.2. A Description of the Commemoration ........................................................................ 104 3.2.3. Commemorating the Tragedy within the Family ........................................................ 113 3.2.4. Commemorations: A Comparative Perspective .......................................................... 115 Part III. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 116 Chapter 4: Trauma Memory and Healing ........................................................................................... 119 4.0. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….119 Part I: Trauma Memory and Psychotherapy ................................................................................... 120 4.1.1. Survivors’ Perspectives ............................................................................................... 121 4.1.2. Trauma Healing........................................................................................................... 126 Part II: Social Support Networks .................................................................................................... 130 4.2.1. The August Seventh Bomb-blast Victims Association (ASBVA) .............................. 132 Part III: Performance and Visual Art .............................................................................................. 137 4.3.1. Music as Therapy ........................................................................................................ 137 4.3.2. Use of Film in Mediating Trauma ............................................................................... 140 Part IV: Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 143 Chapter 5: Ethnicity and Identity ........................................................................................................ 146 5.0: Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 146 Part I: Colonialism, Ethnicity and Independence ............................................................................ 147 5.1.1. Pre-colonial