AO: This excerpt from Mnjama (2003) highlights how the Kenya National Archive in the late 1970s uniquely innovated on how to position the institution to be relevant for Kenyans. However, the author notes that such extending past the official mandate of the archives was not well received at the time and the Chief Archivist under whose watch this "golden age of the Archives" occurred was relieved of his duties in 1981.
Dr. Kagombe must… be credited for initiating the collection of oral traditions country-wide, an elaborate recruitment programme of new graduates, an excellent training programme… the construction of a permanent stand at the Agricultura Society’s Show Ground in Nairobi, establishing a documentation centre and facilitating the organization of the Round Table Conference of the International Council on Archives in Nairobi in 1978. … There is no doubt that the National Archives had embarked on a programme aimed at transforming itself from an insignificant government department to a key player in the collection and preservation of the national cultural heritage. What were then considered as non-essential functions of the department would be seen today as major areas of interest for archivists and records managers. For instance, the department was criticized for its oral tradition programme, but how do we give the voiceless a voice in our history if their activities, which were not documented in official records, are not collected? Another criticism levelled against the department was in the construction of a public gallery at Jamhuri Park, Nairobi, where annual International Agricultural Shows are held. Today, the world over, archival institutions are striving very hard to take the archives to the people, yet the efforts of the department at that time were interpreted narrowly as empire building by the then Chief Archivist.” (page 93).
