Kenya at 60: the patriotic choral music used to present one version of history

Kenya is marking 60 years since its independence from British colonial rule on December 12, 1963. Each year, the country celebrates the occasion with a national holiday, Jamhuri Day. And for much of the past 60 years, patriotic choral music has been a regular feature of those celebrations. In this episode, we explore how much one song can tell you about the politics of a new nation – and who controls what gets remembered and what gets forgotten.

Featuring Doseline Kiguru, a research associate in cultural and literary production in Africa at the University of Bristol in the UK, plus Julius Maina, East Africa editor at The Conversation based in Nairobi.

This episode was produced by Katie Flood and Mend Mariwany. It was written by Gemma Ware, who is the executive producer of the show. Full credits for this episode are available here. A full transcript is now available.

Further reading:

• Kenya at 60: the shameful truth about British colonial abuse and how it was covered up
• Humiliation and violence in Kenya’s colonial days – when old men were called ‘boy’ and Africans were publicly beaten
• Kenya’s ‘patriotic’ choral music has been used to embed a skewed version of history