Population Movements and the Consolidation of Authority in the Inter-Lacustrine Region of Western Kenya: A Political Transformation of Gem Community in Pre-Colonial Times

During the time before European colonisation, the gem people of Kenya did not have any kind of state organisation or formal chiefdoms. The breadth of this paper is limited by the primary focus of this investigation. Beginning with the formation of the gem people around the year 1800 and continuing up until the eve of the Second World War, we tin trace the progression of political authority within the gem community. The clan, which was a small and highly localized social category in gem during the 19th century, was the preeminent social category. Above this level, regional leadership established the foundation for inter-clan harmony at home and effective warfare elsewhere. But at the beginning of the l890s, colonial intervention in the interlacustrine region destroyed the authority of the regional leaders. This occurred as a result of a combination of factors. After that, local combinations of clans that were led by a dominant clan leader were able to provide security and redress for wrongs in the immediate vicinity, but apart from that, there were no restrictions placed on the warfare that occurred between clans. At the turn of the century, when the British arrived, the scope of political authority in gem was consequently constrained to a greater extent than it had ever been before. Clan leaders were able to delay the full assertion of colonial control and then manipulate the newly established administrative structure for the benefit of traditional interests. Despite this, full colonial control was eventually established. The common population lost the ability to participate in political decision-making that they had in pre-colonial times, and they discovered that there were few avenues open to them for seeking redress against abuse of power. However, up until 1939, the majority of decision-making power in native administration was held by men who held some degree of traditional status.