University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Work
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      A PHILOSOPHICAL JUSTIFICATION OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IN POSTCOLONIAL AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      GEMOH-THESIS-2018.pdf (687.6Kb)
      Date
      2018-05-24
      Author
      Gemoh, Ferdinand 1981-
      ORCID
      0000-0002-7919-5423
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      A philosophical defense of indigenous rights in postcolonial Kenya is necessary and overdue. The case for indigenous rights is perhaps one of the most significant political questions facing the state of Kenya. Unlike in other postcolonial parts of the globe where the question has gained acceptance and mechanisms are in place to promote indigenous wellbeing, the question in Kenya as in other parts of the African continent has been met with stiff resistance from state governments and even some academics. Despite this resistance, several Kenyan peoples have affixed the word “indigenous” to their names. These are distinct peoples with different burdens originating from colonialism. On the one hand, the question involves whether or not indigeneity is meaningful in contemporary Kenyan politics. On the other hand, the question is if indigeneity qualifies as a legitimate moral basis for the allocation of special rights to specific groups in Kenya. This thesis takes the position that indigenous rights are philosophically defensible in Kenya. Thus, the main objective of this study is to justify the claim that indigeneity is an identity with legal merit in Kenya as well as analyse key arguments that have been advanced both for and against the thesis that indigenous rights are indefensible in Kenya. To this end, I begin by analysing the concept of indigeneity. I explicate the meaning of indigeneity via its etymology and usage. I argue that it is the specificity of ties to a particular territory which defines indigeneity. On this basis, I conclude that indigeneity is a valid category in Kenya. Next, I examine three approaches to indigenous rights: Will Kymlicka, Dale Turner and James Tully. Their different viewpoints assist to illuminate the different sides of the complex question of indigenous rights and thus inform the discussion of the study. I use insights from these approaches to make a case for the legitimacy of indigenous rights in Kenya. I propose three different arguments for legitimatisation. These three arguments are established on: indigenous nationhood, historic injustices and, constitutionalism.
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      Philosophy
      Program
      Philosophy
      Supervisor
      Hudson, Robert
      Committee
      Ria, Jenkins; Zamulinski, Brian; O'Hagan, Emer; Mitchell, Mathew
      Copyright Date
      May 2018
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/8586
      Subject
      Indigenous Rights
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy