KAPENGURIA: An exhibition at the Kapenguria Museum in West Pokot County offers a significant opportunity to explore the intricate relationship between historical injustices and modern political identities in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. This new exhibit seeks to engage visitors in a critical dialogue about the legacies of slavery, colonialism, and apartheid, and their impact on the present social and political landscape in these countries.
According to Kenya News Agency, the exhibition places a particular focus on how systems of oppression affected the populations of Kenya, notably the Dini ya Musambwa sect in West Pokot County. Members of this religious movement claim their leader, Lukas Kipkech, was killed by colonialists, and his body was never recovered for burial. Dr. Chloe Josse-Durand, the lead researcher from Newcastle University, emphasized that the stories of forgotten heroes who played significant roles in resisting colonial rule and advocating for Kenyan rights and freedoms have been overlooke
d.
Dr. Josse-Durand highlighted the unrecognized grassroots activists in West Pokot County who contributed substantially to Kenya’s independence movement. She noted the efforts of the Dini ya Musambwa in the 1940s and 1950s to resist colonialists, particularly in their struggle for freedom of worship and other rights. The exhibition aims to amplify these marginalized voices and foster a deeper understanding of the colonial violence experienced during the independence period.
The displays include 14 documents in English detailing various incarcerations in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, examining the relationship between memories of slavery, colonialism, and current political identities. Adherents of the Dini ya Musambwa sect have called for the government, through the National Museums of Kenya, to recognize their movement’s contributions to the independence struggle, particularly in West Pokot County.
Wanjala Kapule, a representative from Bungoma County, emphasized the crucial role played by the founders o
f the religious movement, Elijah Masinde wa Nameme and Lukas Kipkech, in fighting for colonial emancipation. He argued for their recognition at the Kapenguria Museum, suggesting their monuments be erected as a sign of honor for the Pokot community’s participation in the independence struggle.
The Dini ya Musambwa movement, which remains active in West Pokot County, expressed a desire to see portraits of their leaders in the museum to provide visitors with a comprehensive history of the locals’ involvement in the independence struggle. The movement’s official, Kebireng Lomokidaring, urged the current government to petition the British government to locate Kipkech’s burial site for commemoration.
The exhibition was inaugurated with the participation of sect followers and entertainment groups, organized by Newcastle University researchers under the Afterlives of Colonial Incarceration in Africa project. Julius Ogega, Acting Curator of the National Museums of Kenya, Western Region, praised the exhibitions for t
heir potential to attract new visitors and researchers, as well as for their role in repurposing detention centers in the country.
