Department of Social sciences
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Item GENDER, LAND OWNERSHIP AND FOOD PRODUCTION NEXUS IN MBEERE DRYLANDS, KENYA: IMPLICATIONS ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY(2018) Mwenzwa, Ezekiel; Cheserek, Grace; Kiptui, MarkLand ownership gives an individual the confidence and dignity required to be active in society. Indeed, land ownership and rights are important for effective utilization of farmland for food production to alleviate food insecurity and revitalize household welfare and national development. While the foregoing is the ideal situation, the reality is that culture and gender dictates who owns land especially when customary laws seem to override any legal and policy provisions regarding land ownership, access and control. In particular, women are largely land caretakers, with men owning most of the land, titled or otherwise. Based on the foregoing, this paper sought to identify gender and land ownership structures in the context of dryland farming and their implications on household food security in the Mbeere drylands of Embu County. It utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods of social investigation and concluded that while many factors combine to determine food production and food security, inadequate access to and control of land and related resources by women in the Mbeere drylands is significant. Consequently and given the environmental and cultural milieu on which land is utilized, measures have been proposed to augment dryland farming and alleviate food insecurity in the Mbeere drylands.Item The Changing of African Traditional Celebration of the Living Dead and its effects of Cremation in Kenya(2023-08) Kavulavu, Leen; Achar, George OkumuThis paper investigates the effects of cremation on African traditional celebrations of the living dead in Kenya. The study examines bereavement and mourning practices in communities, with a particular focus on traditional modes of mourning, grieving, and remembering the living dead. According to the study, African traditions, the spread of Christianity, the influence of the Hindu culture, and Islamic beliefs all conflict with the changing culture that is slowly embracing cremation. The methodology for this study involved secondary data. The conclusion drawn from the study is that even as the scarcity of land pushes societies to consider the option of cremation, cultural and religious perceptions have painted the practice unethical and term it “un-African.” In Kenya, the majority of the population still opts to bury their dead in their ancestral homes in order to perform ritual and religious burial rites.Item Gender, Land Ownership and Food Production Nexus in Mbeere Drylands, Kenya: Implications on Household Food Security(European Journal Of Social Sciences Studies, 2018) Mwenzwa, Ezekiel; Cheserek, Grace; Kiptui, MarkLand ownership gives an individual the confidence and dignity required to be active in society. Indeed, land ownership and rights are important for effective utilization of farmland for food production to alleviate food insecurity and revitalize household welfare and national development. While the foregoing is the ideal situation, the reality is that culture and gender dictates who owns land especially when customary laws seem to override any legal and policy provisions regarding land ownership, access and control. In particular, women are largely land caretakers, with men owning most of the land, titled or otherwise. Based on the foregoing, this paper sought to identify gender and land ownership structures in the context of dryland farming and their implications on household food security in the Mbeere drylands of Embu County. It utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods of social investigation and concluded that while many factors combine to determine food production and food security, inadequate access to and control of land and related resources by women in the Mbeere drylands is significant. Consequently, and given the environmental and cultural milieu on which land is utilized, measures have been proposed to augment dryland farming and alleviate food insecurity in the Mbeere drylands.Item RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGES FACING RE-INTEGRATION OF WOMEN EXOFFENDERS IN NYERI COUNTY, KENYA(2019-12) Muthee, John Mbai; Barasa, Francis O.; Adeli, ScholasticaThe comparative rate of women entering the formal correctional system and serving custodial sentences, both in prison and prison remand awaiting trial, is on the increase. This is accompanied by a similarly increasing number of women eventually exiting prisons annually. This study sought to investigate the Relationship challenges influencing re-integration of women exoffenders in Nyeri County, Kenya. Labeling and the social bond theories provided the theoretical framework. Case study design was used. With the site selection and sampling procedure being purposive, respondents were picked through snowballing until saturation was attained with a sample size of 41 women ex-convicts. The Key informants and Focused group discussants were also purposively selected. Data was collected by use of semi-structured interview schedule orally administered through personal face-to-face interviews and field sheets. The results showed that change in relationships between the ex-convicts, their families and significant members in the community were the major issues that the ex-convicts faced. Some indicated that they had good relationships while others had strained relationships, both before and during incarceration or even after release. Research on methods to smoothen the relationships between female convicts and their families and the communities they are released into is recommended in order to ameliorate the process of reentry and re-integration. Understanding relationships’ related challenges is significant in successfully reintegrating back into the community for the women returnees in the Kenyan context.Item Retelling the Mau Mau Past from the Mbeere Perspective(Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 2022) Mwaruvie, John; Otieno, Joshia, Osamba,; Kanyingi, BensonThis article analyzes the contested historical narrative behind the Mbeere’s role in the Mau Mau movement. Specifically, it explores the role of memorialization and marginalization in reconfiguring this past. With respect to the latter, the Mbeere were ostracized from the Mau Mau movement after the Kenyan Parliament, headed by Dedan Kimathi, sought to consolidate support by encouraging local officials to lobby bordering ethnic groups. As a result, the Mbeere, who were suspected to be pro-government and anti-Mau Mau, faced brutal reprisals from the Kikuyu and the Embu, key players in the movement. Although the physical violence may have ended, the symbolic violence of denial and ostracism persists as the Mau Mau movement’s memory is popularized and commodified through the British government’s acknowledgement of their abuse against Kenyans in the Mau Mau struggle. The dominant history of the Mau Mau rebellion is harrowing for the Mbeere Mau Mau veterans, who in fact existed and fought tenaciously against the British but were subsequently omitted from these narratives. This article draws on oral testimonies and archival sources to explore this history and potential avenues for official recognition and memorializationItem Who is Against Sino-African Relations? Evolving Perceptions on Chinese Engagement in Kenya(Chinese Journal of International Review, 2020) Waweru, Sammy MwangiRise of China and increased Chinese engagement across the globe, have attracted mixed and varied reactions of approval and disapproval in a number of host countries. Against this background, this study brings into perspective rise of anti-Chinese sentiments in Africa, with a Kenyan case study, examining who, why and where anti-Chinese sentiments are most prevalent. The study finds anti-Chinese sentiments being most prevalent among Kenya’s small scale traders who have been displaced by Chinese capital flow and trade in the country. The finding is contextualized within broader framework of globalization and its resultant effects on free movement of capital, trade and investment. More precisely, Chinese capital flow and trade have had distributional consequences of winners and losers with potential to displace Kenya’s small scale traders hence the rise of anti-Chinese sentiments. The anti-Chinese sentiments are equally evident among section of Kenya’s politicians and intelligentsia, who have questioned the viability of Chinese built infrastructure. Further, anti-Chinese sentiments have been found among ordinary citizens who have experienced, albeit isolated, incidences of Chinese misconducts in the country. Notwithstanding these negative reactions, Chinese engagement in Kenya is still pronounced and has popular support from government, general citizenry and among classes of Kenyan who have benefited from Chinese This is an Open Access article, copyright owned by World Scientific Publishing Company (WSPC) and School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Shanghai International Studies University (SIRPA of SISU). The article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC) License which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited and is used for non-commercial purposes.involvement in the country. The segmented nature of anti-Chinese sentiments has not been strong enough to undo general goodwill, attitude and perceptions, that ordinary citizen hold towards Chinese engagement in KenyaItem Managerial Skills and Corporate Strategic Planning(International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, 2016) Kiambati, Kellen; Itunga, JuliusThe aim of this study is to establish the relationship between managerial skills and corporate strategic planning. The study was premised on increased call to meticulous strategic planning in all organizations across all sectors in Kenya. A close examination of existing literature showed that very little has been done in the area of evidence-based strategic planning. Public and private institutions participated in this study. The findings showed a positive and significant relationship between managerial skills and corporate strategic planning. The implication of the findings for management is to give more attention to managerial skills.Item The effect of environmental change on sustainable energy in Olkaria geothermal and Kenya power station, Nakuru County, Kenya(INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE, 2020) Gichuhi, David; Gesimba, Paul; Kipsiele, GideonEnergy is one of the most important resources in the growth of an economy. The generation of power is key to the effectiveness of sustainable energy management. Energy production warrants production hence connected to economic development. Environmental change has an impact on the sustainability of renewable energy. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of environmental change on sustainable energy in Olkaria Geothermal and Kenya Power Station, Nakuru County, Kenya. The study was informed by two theories namely; Socio-technical Transitions Approach Theory and Coevolutionary Approach to Transitions. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population was 359 employees with a stratified sample design. The sample frame was 108 employees being 30% of the total population. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The preliminary data was analysed using descriptive statistics and presented in the form of tables. Inferential statistics were employed through Pearson’s Correlation analysis and regression analysis was used to test the study hypothesis at a 5% significance level. The findings indicated that was a statistically significant relationship between environmental change and sustainable energy (r=0.286; p=0.005). Further, the study revealed that environmental change has a statistically significant effect on sustainable energy in Olkaria Geothermal and Kenya Power Station, Nakuru County, Kenya (p<0.05). The study recommends that institutional environmental changes should be examined and their influence on sustainable energy management.Item The Relationship between Psychosocial Preparation for Retirement and Quality of Life of Retirees in Kenya(Research Publish Journals, 2016-09) Thuku, Pauline; Maina, Lucy; Gecaga, MargaretAs the Kenya government works towards improving the Quality of life (QoL) of all people, that of retirees requires special attention. This is because they have to undergo the retirement transition that significantly influences QoL. Research has established a significant positive relationship between retirement preparation and QoL. Hence, the relevant policies and institutional frameworks to promote QoL in retirement have been put in place. However, studies show that retirees in Kenya continue to experience many challenges. This study was therefore conducted to assess the relationship between psychosocial retirement preparation and QoL with a view to delineating the significant predictors of QoL. From a target population of 4,469 retirees, ten percent was sampled for the study. Purposive, cluster, simple random and stratified random sampling methods were used to select 447 respondents. Quantitative data was collected using interview schedules and analyzed quantitatively. FGD guides were used to collect data from participants and analyzed thematically. The study found that most respondents (82.25 percent) had not adequately prepared for retirement in the psychosocial domain. Consequently, less than half (41.5 percent) of them experienced a high QoL in retirement. QoL was found to be positively related to social support and a diversity of pre-retirement activities that translated in greater satisfaction at retirement. In view of this, the study recommends that psychosocial preparation for retirement be emphasized as a critical component of the retirement preparation process.Item The Oscillating State’s Role in the Provision of Social Welfare Services in Kenya(International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2016-05) Mwenzwa, Ezekiel Mbitha; Waweru, Sammy MwangiThe provision of social services in the global south has largely remained the role of governments with the private sector playing a peripheral role. At Kenya’s independence in 1963, provision of social services was solely the role of government. This was to remain so until the adoption of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) as prescribed by World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), which called on government to roll back in provision of social services. Guided by neoliberal theory, provision of social services was later to be characterized by the introduction of user charges, cost sharing initiatives and privatization to augment the role of the private sector in this regard. However, over time Kenya has witnessed the resurgence of the state, especially during the President Mwai Kibaki era (2002-2012), in the provision of these services. Since then the Government of Kenya has continuously strengthened its role in this endeavor as it were conceived at independence. The gist of this paper is to examine the oscillation of the state in provision of social welfare services in independent Kenya. It is observed that politics has weighed heavily on the provision of social welfare services even as external prescriptive pressure has undermined state functioning in this regard. Nevertheless, increased tax collection has given Kenyan state leverage to sustain provision of welfare services. However institutionalization of welfare provision still faces challenges of resources, capacity and accountability. Finally, the paper evaluates merits and demerits of each welfare regime and recommends the way forward to revitalize provision of social welfare services and augment human welfare in the country.