Challenges of presenting history in museums

Karanja Mirara, National Museums of Kenya

Heritage is what we have inherited from our ancestors. I was born in Lari in Kiambu District in February 1953, one month before the Lari massacre took place. I wish to talk about the challenges that we at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) are facing as we try to present the history of this country.

The National Museums of Kenya has been in existence for the last 80 years. A lot of what has been exhibited at the museums over the years has had to do with research findings on natural science, palaeontology and archeology, but our culture and history has been neglected. Recently, NMK has embarked on the reconstruction and expansion of the history gallery, to be able to display more history. The history that has previously been exhibited at our museums was based on the above findings, particularly by the Leakey family, dating many centuries back. But the question is: where is the history of the last 2-300 years? Does it mean that there has been no history during that time? There is a gap in our history that NMK now wants to bridge.

In the past two years, a lot of work has been done in the history gallery that will be able to demonstrate what our people [Kenyans] have been doing during that historical period. NMK aims at bringing out a common identity for all Kenyans through the displayed history. Ethnic clashes being experienced in some parts of the country are a clear indication that Kenyans have not found a common identity but are still divided along ethnic lines. We wish to demonstrate that people from the different ethnic communities have been involved in building Kenya into what it is today. The exhibition will be divided into three main parts:

1. Before 1895: Kenya before Kenya 
This part of the exhibition will show how life was before the coming of the white man, who gave the country its name.

2. 1895-1920
This will be a demonstration of the hard times Kenyans underwent at the hands of the white settlers, including how local communities lost their land to the settlers.

3. 1920-1963: The Struggle for Independence
This part of the exhibition will focus on freedom fighters from all over the country to show that the struggle for independence involved all communities. Some of the leaders whose history will be exhibited are: Jesse Kariuki and Joseph Kangethe from Central Kenya, Jonathan Okwiri and Archdeacon Owen from Nyanza, and Muindi Mbingu from Kambaland.

4. 1963-2002: Postcolonial Kenya
The exhibition will show the journey taken by Kenya as an independent country from Kenyatta’s socialism to Moi’s Nyayoism, and then to the struggle for a multiparty system.

Challenges
One of the biggest challenges in presenting history in our museums is the lack of materials for exhibition. A lot of materials have been smuggled out of the country and there is no legal provision in our constitution on how to repatriate them. In the past year, we have been able to get back some materials from the UK and the US. Some items belonging to [Nandi leader] Samoei Koitalel have been repatriated through a foundation formed by relatives and friends and with support of the government.

There has been no formal documentation on such items and it becomes hard to identify and claim ownership of these items once they are smuggled out of the country.

Interpretation of the available materials and getting a balanced story from different sources is also a challenge, because different authors give different meanings to historical events. There is no clear strategy on collection of materials from the public and people are not willing to hand over materials in their possession to us.

Kenya is not a signatory to any conventions that would enable us to repatriate and protect cultural materials from illicit export and transfer.