The Mau Mau Myth : Kenyan Political Discourse in Search of Democracy.

Abstract Forty years after the British colonial authorities in Kenya declared a state of emergency to crush the Mau Mau, conclusive answers to what was the Mau Mau are still intriguing. Since 1961 there has been an ongoing dispute over the interpretation of the Mau Mau myth, especially in relation to its relevance to the socio-political presence. The government, whether Kenyatta's or Moi's, has had the power at its disposal to determine which themes in the official discourse should be stressed, and in what light should the Mau Mau be perceived. In so doing, it determined the ways in which Kenyan history and specifically the collective memory of the Mau Mau was reconstructed. Various elements within the Kenyan society have clashed over conflicting interpretations of the Mau Mau, thus indicating that the whole issue of the Mau Mau was part of an ongoing political debate over the questions of ideology and power in Kenya. This debate was broadened to such an extent that some of the contestants were unwilling to accept the Mau Mau and tried to lock the memory of it back in the "historical closet".