Class struggle taken to the wilds in re-enactment of colonial history

By Peter Kimani

Kenya: There is quite a bit of excitement about the number of elephants and rhinos dying at the hands of poachers, and it’s generating more attention than the human casualties of conflict, famine and disease put together.

On the one side is the Kenya Wildlife Service, insistent that this is a manufactured crisis by non-profit busybodies keen to tap into donors’ dollars under the pretext that they are providing a service KWS has failed on.

The truth resides elsewhere. Kenyans are pawns in a sophisticated power-play between the imperial West (and their local collaborators) and a treasured heritage that has been used effectively to re-colonise Kenyans. Wild animals are meant to draw in rich tourists whose euros and dollars are supposed to power the economy.

And because local Kenyans cannot be trusted to take care of the animals, a cordon of electric fencing is thrown around every game reserve, disrupting the bond between man and nature. A further disruption is envisioned to ensure KWS has little control of the wild animals because it represents local ownership.

Class struggle has always bedevilled this society, but its extension to the wild represents a creative onslaught that must be applauded for its originality. However, it remains a re-enactment of our colonial history.