Doctoral Research Proposal
Topic: Elusive Justice: The Maasai Challenges of Land Appropriation
in Kenya.
A Critical Theory
Koissaba B. R. Ole
Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life
Clemson University
Born among the Maasai Tribe of Kenya
Associate Diploma: Art Teaching- Kenya Polytechnic
Post Graduate Diploma- Theology and Development, Leeds University UK
MA Social Entrepreneurship- Northwest University Kirkland WA
Over 20 years working for International NGOs,
Consulted for: UN,USAID,AUSAID,EU,UNDP & OTHER CIVIL SOCIETY
PUBLICATIONS AT Ph.D. LEVEL
1.
E-learning Principles and Practices in the Context of Indigenous Peoples: A comparative Study.
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/sites/default/files/ips_and_e-learning.pdf
2.
Education for All: The prospects and challenges of mobile schools, mobile education, and e-learning for the Nomadic
Pastoralists in Kenya. http://kessa.org/past_conference/2013_conference.
Book Chapter
Elusive Justice: The Maasai Contestestation of Land Appropriation in Kenya. A Historical and Contemporary Perspective.
American Society of International Law and will be published in a forth coming book titled “Indigenous Rights in International
Law
Peer reviewed and conference paper
Community Development: The Dilemma of Theory and Practice. Kenya Scholars and Studies Association 2014 conference to be
held in University of North Alabama 4th-7th September 2014
BOOK: Koissaba, B.R. Ole. (2012). Local Advocacy to National Activism: Maa Civil Society Forum, Kenya. ISBN 978-3-659-262210
Objectives of the study
To investigate and document both the historical and contemporary legal and
policy frameworks that have contributed to appropriation of Maasai land in Kenya
To examine and analyze the Maasai socio-political and economic structure in
relation to how colonization, and post- independence policy and legal regimes
have contributed to the current dispensation of land loss.
To examine the land appropriation from a legal (regulatory) and human rights
perspective.
To provide policy recommendations from a legal and human rights perspectives
to inform the social-cultural patterns of the Maasai; address the economic, health
, and education situation as well as redress the Maasai loss of native land.
Conceptual framework
This study uses a Critical Theory approach (Harbamas, 1987, 1996).
Critical Theory seeks the emancipation of society and the liberation of human beings from
circumstances that oppress them.
It seeks to contextualize philosophical claims to truth and moral universality without reducing
them to social and historical conditions, and therefore preventing the loss of truth about the
past knowledge and actions in any society (Harbamas, 1996) .
Enables the researcher to study social institutions and how they have transformed over time
and their contributions to the critical reflective processes aimed at empowering the
community (Creswell, 2007).
It is a critical thinking approach aimed at “empowering” people.
Critical Theory is also interested in those social facts and circumstances that constrain the
realization of the “ideal democracy” and force people to reconsider its normative content
(Harbamas, 1996).
Guiding principle
The study is guided by Harbamas concepts of legitimacy, communication, rationality,
discourse, democracy, facts, and norms.
According to Harbamas (1996), legitimacy is subjective and found in the belief and
perceptions of individuals and groups towards the actions and behaviors of others.
Harbamas further argues that legitimacy creates an assurance among the public that
the government is making appropriate and just decisions that benefit everyone.
Contrary to Harbamas arguments, legitimacy of both the colonial and post- colonial
regimes in Kenya in regards to making appropriate and just decisions that benefited
everyone is contestable.
Figure 1 Research proposal concept map
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Environmental Effects:
•
Overgrazing
•
Change in land
use systems
•
Resource based
conflict
Economic Effects:
Loss of grazing land
Loss of livestock
Loss of labor
Increased levels of
poverty
•
Apathy
•
•
•
•
Social Effects:
Death
Intermarriages
Broken Families
Loss of heritage sites
Loss of cultural values
Loss of Identity
Political Effects:
New Western
political system
•
Loss of traditional
leadership
structures
•
Political
domination by
immigrant
communities
•
Dispossessions’ of
land through the
Maasai agreements of
1904/1911 and
subsequent postcolonial land policies
Psychological Effects:
•
Loss of dignity
•
Loss of attachment to
land
•
Separation of families
• Loss f self-esteem
Methodology
Research Design
A qualitative design was selected for this study. As I previously stated
the issues that critical theory examines are structures, dominant
ideology, and life world, are important to me and match the research
questions. Within this paradigm, theoretical ideas from Harbamas (1996)
particularly the theory of legitimation will be used.
Sampling, Participants, and Documents
The population is 167,000 people drawn from group ranches in Kajiado, Narok Counties as well as the Maasai
population that that lives in Nakuru County, Baringo, Samburu and Laikipia Counties.
A purposeful sub-sample of a population of 30 from all the mentioned areas will be selected for interviews using the
criterion based strategy (Creswell, 2013).
•
The participants will be information rich, that is, they have the information, knowledge, and experience with
Maa land acquisition that the researcher requires for the study.
•
I will locate the participants by using existing social networks which include Facebook, LinkedIn, and the
membership of Maa Civil Society Forum which brings together several NGOs, FBOs and individuals from Maa
speaking communities in Kenya ( Apparently I am the National chair and coordinator of the forum).
Such documents will include:
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Colonial and post- colonial legislations on land;
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The Maasai agreements of 1904 and 1911;
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Newspaper reports;
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The Lancaster Independence Conference report;
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Ole Njogo case of 1913 and other cases that have been filed in courts;
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Conference reports, academic papers, Land Commissions reports;
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The Constitution of Kenya, and reports from human rights and advocacy groups.
These reports have already been obtained by the researcher through his extensive work in advocacy and human
rights.
Researcher –Participant Relationship
Etic: Detached relationships. In order not to influence the study
outcomes, the etic of the study will be undertaken before the emic
approach - Will eliminate cultural biases by becoming culturally
neutral, limiting any ethnocentric, political or alienation of the Maasai
culture and perspectives of land appropriation.
Emic: I will try to put aside prior theories and assumptions in order to
let the participants and data speak to them and to allow themes,
patterns, and concepts to emerge. This will enable the respect for
local viewpoints, and its potential to uncover unexpected findings.
This for me as an insider as well as the researcher is perfect situation
that “I cannot be neutral in a moving train” (Zinn, 1994).
Procedure
The core inquiry for this study that the researcher will use are:
a) field notes;
b) in-depth interview ;
c) historical analysis;
d)films, videos and photography;
e) analyzing documents and material culture.
Interviews
• I will use Creswell (2013) 7 steps of interviewing supplemented with Patton (2002) general
categories of interviews as a guide for the interviews. I will develop an interview guide with
open ended questions.
• I will explore a few general topics to help uncover the participant’s views but otherwise
respects how the participant frames and structures the responses.
The interviews will be carried out in Narok, Kajiado, Nakuru, Baringo, Laikipia, and Samburu
Counties of the Rift Valley province in Kenya.
Document Review
It involves the review of a variety of existing sources with the intention of collecting independently verifiable data and
information ( Creswell, 2013).
I will review both historical and contemporary documents such as:
1.
Colonial and post- colonial legislations on land;
2.
The Maasai agreements of 1904 and 1911, newspaper reports;
3.
The Lancaster Independence Conference report;
4.
Ole Njogo case of 1913 and other cases that have been filed in courts;
5.
Conference reports,
6.
Academic papers,
7.
Land Commissions reports,
8.
The Constitution of Kenya.
Other documents for review will include laws that are relevant to the field of study. These include:
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Forest Act (Cap 385);
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Government Lands Act (Cap 280);
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Registered Land Act (Cap 300);
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Trust Land Act (Cap 288);
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Land (Group Representatives) Act (Cap 287);
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Land Adjudication Act (Cap 284);
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National Land Policy, 2009.
Historical Analysis
It is particularly useful in qualitative studies for establishing a baseline or background prior to participant observation or interviewing
(Creswell, 2013).
I will consider the following sources of data in the historical analysis data:
a)
contemporary records, including instructions, stenographic records, business and legal papers, and personal notes and
memos;
b)
confidential reports, including military records, journals and diaries, and personal letters;
c)
public reports, including newspaper reports and memoirs or autobiographies;
d)
government documents, including archives and regulations;
e)
opinions, including editorials, speeches, pamphlets, letters to the editor, and public opinion polls;
f)
fiction, songs, and poetry;
g)
folklore.
Films, Videos, and Photography
Films and photography have the unique ability to capture visible historical phenomena objectively. According to Szto et al. (2005)
various forms of photography can be used for data collection and for organizing, interpreting, and validating qualitative inquiry
(Szto, Furman, & Langer, 2005).
The researcher will use available films and other documentaries in life crises, cultural events and ceremonies, documented social
conflicts that have been transmitted to successive generations.
Ethics and Ethical procedures
The study will take into consideration the protection
of the rights, and welfare of human subjects
recruited to participate in research activities
conducted under the auspices of Clemson
University by adhering to Institutional Review Board
(IRB) requirements. The researcher currently has a
current Human Subjects Protections
Course Curriculum Completion Certificate but will
obtain IRB approval.
Data Analysis
I will use Hatch’s (2002) 8 steps procedure for critical theory analysis.
I will code the data related to my assumptions (deductive) and code inductively as new themes emerge.
I will consider my assumptions and their codes as well as Habermas’ and do an analysis of the codes to know
which of my assumptions are supported by Habermas codes.
I will there after write analytical memos and notes about possible generalizations (including those to
Habermas); verify my understanding and interpretation through checking, and writing up an analysis.
Trustworthiness
I will be candid about my biases and presuppositions, and I have tried to develop a coherent research design.
The criteria for judging quality in qualitative research are credibility, transferability, dependability, and
conformability (Creswell, 2013; Lincoln & Guba, 1994).
•
I will demonstrate that a true picture of the phenomenon under scrutiny is being presented
•
I will provide a summary of the analysis to the participants to validate and make comments
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I will seek to identify and explain cases that contradict my interpretations
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I will combine my findings with those from other sources
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I will take a personal reflection action process (reflexivity)
Transferability and Validity
Transferability: The extent to which the findings of one study can be applied to other situations.
Validity: That the research findings truly represent the phenomenon the researcher is claiming to
measure.
For purposes of this study, validity is used to denote quality, trustworthiness, and authenticity of the
data. To ensure for the validity of the data, the researcher will use triangulation and expert opinion.
Researcher Credibility
• The researcher has a long history spanning over 20 years in the field of advocacy and human
rights especially Maasai land rights and a founder chair of Maa Civil Society Forum which was
formed in 2004 to advocate for the rights of the Maasai people in Kenya.
•
As an advocate to the rights of the Maasai I have participated in various, local, national,
regional and international conferences and workshops where I have presented position papers
on the human rights situation of the Maasai and was the global co-chair of the United Nations
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues during the 2009 session held in New York.
•
I am a member of several national and international human rights organization and a regular
contributor to several Indigenous Peoples’ journals.
•
I have authored a book “Advocacy to National Activism: Maa Civil Society Forum, Kenya and
other publications on the rights of Indigenous People. As a researcher I am currently a volunteer
consultant on Indigenous People with the World Bank, USAID, UNICEF and UNDP.
Scope and limitation of the study
The study has the following limitations:
• The period covered is comprehensive and since most of the eye witnesses of
the first and second Maasai moves in 1904 and 1911 have died.
• Existing literature is limited and biased towards general perspectives of the
Maasai culture and other aspects that relate to changes affecting the Maasai.
• Sampling bias due to the fact that the available information is only available
from those who have participated in land appropriation processes either
through advocacy or litigation.
• The researcher is not a legal expert (attorney), but has access to legal statutes
related to the study area which will be examined and analyzed.
• The researcher will not return to Kenya to collect data. The internet (Skype)
and the phone will be used to conduct the interviews.
Chapter overview
Chapter 1: Introduction of the case study and gives out a brief history of the Maasai and land
acquisition and policy issues. The chapter examines Critical Theory to address Maasai land
appropriation and policy studies related to land in Kenya
Chapter 2: Examination of the Critical Theory which is the framework for the study and the
concepts that are used in the study.
Chapter 3: Examination of the methodology and the contextualizing of Critical Theory
approach in the study
Chapter 4: Examination of the Maasai history and deconstruction of stereotyping of the Maasai
as a people by Eurocentric and Western Anthropologists.
Chapter 5 : Examination of the history of Maasai land acquisition in Kenya.
Chapter 6: Examination of both local and international legal and policy processes that the
Maasai have used in contesting both historical and contemporary land appropriation in
Kenya.
Chapter 7 : Discussion and conclusion of the study. It provides a summary of Critical Theory
analysis of the challenges of the Maasai contestation of land appropriation, thematic and
policy implications, study limitations, and recommendations for future research and policy
recommendations
Research Questions
RQ1. What factors or changes in government policy or law brought about the continued loss
of land among the Maasai people in Kenya?
RQ 2. Have there been any government policies or legal mechanisms to preserve cultural,
land use, and land rights practices of its people in Kenya?
RQ3. Are Group Representatives Act and Trust Land Act and other resource related laws
effective in protecting Maasai land rights and land use practices as envisaged at the time of
their enactment ?
RQ 4. What in your view has contributed to current trend which has seen massive land sales
by individual land title owners in what was formally group ranches among the Maasai
community?
RQ 5. What are the social, political, and economic impacts and consequences of continued
land sales in Maasai land ?
RQ 6. Are there any efforts being made to either stop continued land sales or streamline land
sub-division and sale in Maasai land?
RQ7. Who in your view has been instrumental in addressing issues of land loses in Maasai
land and what are the successes and challenges they face ?
RQ8. What are your recommendations for further action on how to engage the Maasai
people to stop the sale of land?