Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) Spring 4-27-2013 Moving Targets: Meanings of Mobility in Metropolitan Nairobi Meghan Elizabeth Ference Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Ference, Meghan Elizabeth, "Moving Targets: Meanings of Mobility in Metropolitan Nairobi" (2013). All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). 1042. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/1042 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of Anthropology Dissertation Examination Committee: John Bowen, Chair Jean Allman Peter Benson Rebecca Lester Shanti Parikh Timothy Parsons Moving Targets: Meanings of Mobility in Metropolitan Nairobi by Meghan Elizabeth Ference A dissertation presented to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2013 St. Louis, Missouri TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures…………………………………………………………….... v List of Abbreviations…..…………………………………………….…….. vii Glossary…………………………………………………………….........… viii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………… ix Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………….. 1 Nairobi, Kenya………………………………………………..……. 5 Moving Targets…………………………………………………….. 10 Spatialized States…………………………………………….…….. 29 Roadmap……………………………………………………..…….. 39 Chapter 2: Methods on the Move…………………………………….…….. 42 Joyriding……………………………………………………..…….. 42 Participants…………………………………………………..…….. 43 Matatus in Everyday Life………………………………………….. 47 Embodied Ethnography……………………………………...…….. 51 Archival Research and Social History……………………….…….. 59 Conclusion…………………………………………………...…….. 63 Chapter 3: Monopolies of Movement………………………………..…….. 64 The Origins of Stigma………………………………………..…….. 66 Colonial Legibility in Kenya………………………………....……. 67 Monopolizing Movement…………………………………….…….. 74 Disrupting Colonial Space…………………………………....……. 84 The Emergence of Pirate Taxis……………………………….……. 90 ii Conclusion…………………………………………………....……. 95 Chapter 4: Environments of Risk…………………………………….…….. 98 Nairobi’s “Risky” Landscape………………………………...……. 99 Putting the Pirate in Matatu, 1960 – 1973…………………..…….. 102 The Development of Oppositional Space, 1980-2001…………….. 115 Practices of Visibility………………………………………..…….. 121 Conclusion…………………………………………………...…….. 131 Chapter 5: Franchising Privilege……………………………………. …….. 135 Michuki Rules……………………………………………….…….. 140 Regulating Individuals…………………………………………….. 144 Post-Election Violence and the Rule of Michuki…………...…….. 153 Franchising Privilege………………………………………..…….. 160 The Mwangi Rules…………………………………………..…….. 168 Conclusion…………………………………………………...…….. 173 Chapter 6: Roadblocks and Risky Business………………………… …….. 174 Understanding Corruption…………………………………...…….. 177 Utanijenga (you will build me)……………………………....…….. 190 Trust………………………………………………………….…….. 196 Shifting Logics of Shame and Solidarity…………………….…….. 201 Chapter 7: In Between the Seats…………………………………….. …….. 204 Intersections of Public and Private Space………………………….. 205 Performing Urban Masculinity…………………………………….. 210 Intimate Interiors…………………………………………………… 216 iii Shift and Struggles around Matatu Work………………….............. 223 Conclusion…………………………………………………………. 227 Chapter 8: Dangerous Bonds………………………………………………. 230 Matatu Funeral…………………………………………………….. 231 Dangerous Bonds…………………………………………………... 236 Conclusions………………………………………………………… 244 Chapter 9: Conclusions and Collisions…………………………….............. 246 The Possibilities of Public Intimacy……………………………….. 252 LIST OF FIGURES iv FIGURES Figure 1.1…………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 Figure 1.2…………………………………………………………………………………………………….7 Figure 1.3…………………………………………………………………………………………………….28 Figure 2.1…………………………………………………………………………………………………….48 Figure 2.2…………………………………………………………………………………………………….50 Figure 2.3…………………………………………………………………………………………………….50 Figure 2.4…………………………………………………………………………………………………….53 Figure 2.5…………………………………………………………………………………………………….54 Figure 2.6…………………………………………………………………………………………………….55 Figure 3.1…………………………………………………………………………………………………….76 Figure 3.2…………………………………………………………………………………………………….77 Figure 3.3…………………………………………………………………………………………………….83 Figure 3.4…………………………………………………………………………………………………….85 Figure 3.5…………………………………………………………………………………………………….85 Figure 3.6…………………………………………………………………………………………………….86 Figure 3.7…………………………………………………………………………………………………….92 Figure 3.8…………………………………………………………………………………………………….94 Figure 4.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………121 Figure 4.2………………………………………………………………………………………….….……..123 Figure 4.3……………………………………………………………………………………….….…….….130 Figure 5.1……………………………………………………………………………….………….…….….136 Figure 5.2……………………………………………………………………………..…………….….……137 Figure 5.3……………………………………………………………………………….………………..….141 Figure 5.4……………………………………………………………………………..………………..……141 Figure 5.5……………………………………………………………………………………………….…...147 Figure 5.6……………………………………………………………………………………………….…...150 Figure 5.7……………………………………………………………………………………………….…...152 Figure 5.8……………………………………………………………………………………………….…...156 Figure 5.9……………………………………………………………………………………………….…...156 Figure 5.10……………………………………………………………………………………………….…157 Figure 5.11……………………………………………………………………………………………….…164 Figure 5.12……………………………………………………………………………………………….…164 Figure 5.13………………………………………………………………………………………………….167 Figure 5.14………………………………………………………………………………………………….172 Figure 6.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………175 Figure 6.2……………………………………………………………………………………………………178 Figure 6.3……………………………………………………………………………………………………182 Figure 6.4……………………………………………………………………………………………………189 Figure 6.5……………………………………………………………………………………………………192 Figure 7.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………219 Figure 7.2……………………………………………………………………………………………………221 Figure 7.3……………………………………………………………………………………………………226 Figure 8.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………233 Figure 8.2……………………………………………………………………………………………………235 v Figure 8.3……………………………………………………………………………………………………235 Figure 8.4……………………………………………………………………………………………………239 Figure 8.5……………………………………………………………………………………………………244 Figure 9.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………247 List of Abbreviations vi BRT – Bus Rapid Transit KBS – Kenya Bus Service KBS Ltd. – Kenya Bus Service Management Limited KRA – Kenya Revenue Authority KTN – Kenya Television Network MADCOWA – Matatu Drivers and Conductors Welfare Association MOA – Matatu Owners Association MPESA – Mobile PESA (money) MVOA – Mombasa Vehicles Owners Association MVDA – Mombasa Vehicle Drivers Association MWA – Matatu Welfare Association NCC – Nairobi City Council PRT – Private Rapid Transit PSV – Public Service Vehicle TKK – Toa Kitu Kidogo (remove a little something; a phrase that connotes corruption) TLB – Transport Licensing Board VOA – Vehicles Owner Association Glossary vii Askari- guard, soldier -Beba – to carry Chai – tea, also can mean a bribe Chapati – Indian flatbread common in Kenya Daladala – Tanzanian mini-bus taxis Dere - driver Duka - shop Engsh – urban youth language, spoken in Westlands, Nairobi Githaka - land Ganya – a nice matatu Jambazi - gangster -jenga – to build Jikoni - kitchen Jo – Man, Pal Jua kali – hot sun, the Swahili name for the informal sector Kamjesh – The gang of unemployed matatu operators who are subsidized by matatus Kiosk – shop, shed Makanga - conductor Malaya - prostitute Manamba - conductor Manyanga – a nice matatu Matatu – a mini bus taxi in Kenya Mathree – matatu (Sheng) Maruti – a small, seven-seater matatu Mlami – person of European descent (Sheng) Mlengo – when a matatu leaves the stage without a full vehicle Mungiki – ethnically homogenous, Kikuyu vigilante gang known to terrorize matatus Mwisho – end Mzungu – person of European descent (Swahili) Nyayo - footstep Peni – one ten-cent coin in the colonial era Poa - cool Probox – a new type of matatu, without a flat front Sanifu – proper swahili Sare - uniforms (Swahili), free (Sheng) Sheng- urban youth language meaning Swahili and English slang. Skwad – a complete trip for a matatu, from the neighborhood to town and back Sonko – market (Swahili), a man with means (Sheng) Tao - town Tiga Wana – leave your foolishness (a Kikuyu admonition) Uhuru – freedon, independence Vako – to get a free ride on a matatu Wabenzi – the people of the Mercedes Benz, meaning elite people Walevi - drunk Wananchi – citizens Wasichana – young women Watoto - children -zunguka – to go around Acknowledgements viii This dissertation could not have been possible without the help of a great many people, beginning with my Kenyan friends and family, Purity Kiura, Kennedy Gitu, Mudi, and the entire Badokufa clan, especially Erastus, Florence, Angela, Pamela and Mzee who taught me new languages and new ways of seeing the world through eating, drinking, dancing and football. I am sincerely blessed by your friendships. To all of the matatu owners and operators who took time out of their busy days to sit and talk with me, teach me new words, answer obvious questions and take me on grand tours of Nairobi. Special thanks to my co-workers in the matatu sector, Ruth, Jesee, Charles, Tony, Anthony, Jackson and especially to my route #48 crew, who taught me everything I know about not knowing anything, especially George,