Kenya National Archives

Gisesa, Nyambega. 2019. “The Unsung Mau Mau Heroes Who Fought for Independence.” Daily Nation, June 1, 2019.

AO: This article mentions Ukombozi library and the National Archives. It quotes Kimani Waweru, the in-charge at Ukombozi Library as saying: "There was a deliberate effort to ensure that the stories of these great men were not told. A few individuals who tried to research on...Read more

AO. Largely unknown and underutilized

AO: The sentiments articulated below echo what my ongoing fieldwork has also revealed, particularly surprising given that I have been engaging with researchers in Kenya. Even amongst local and...Read more

Fenton, Siobhan. 2017. “Why Do Archive Files on Britain’s Colonial Past Keep Going Missing?” The Guardian (blog). December 27, 2017

TM: This Guardian article describes the interesting predicament that is happening at Britain's archives especially in matters surrounding Britain's colonial past. This has interesting insights on the lives of the people it affects namely, the people who bore the brunt of Emperial Britain and the...Read more

AO. Un-sexy and "un-innovative" maintenance work

AO: This quote to me highlights the importance of avoiding progress narratives because in the nearly 15 years since this article was written by two American graduate students, the Kenya National...Read more

Gisesa, Lilian. 2008. “Libraries and Democracy: The Role of the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service.”

AO: This paper by Lilian Gisesa was presented at a conference in Nairobi hosted by the Goethe-Institute and Kenya National Librarians. It demonstrates the fluid relationship between archives and the libraries.Read more

AO. Poor record keeping as reason corruption can thrive

AO: Mnjama (2003) seems to suggest that archival sites are important for accountability of the government and civil servants. He views public record keeping and archives as a mechanism for...Read more

AO. Fire.

AO: This quote highlights the use of fire(s) (also mentioned in Fedha 1972) to destroy many of the colonial government's documents and the supposed rationale for why the...Read more

National Archive as the store of the country's history

Chief Archivist of the Kenya National Archives, N.W. Fedha (1972) wrote :

The National Archives is really a store of all the history of this country. A country without history is like a tree without roots. But then how can a country hope to preserve its history...Read more

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