BEN KANTAI: HISTORY - A HEALING ELEMENT IN AN ETHICIST KENYA

“History is the present,” says Edgar Lawrence Doctorow, an American writer; “That's why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.” Doctorow’s view anchors well with that of the late Prof. Ben Ole Kantai, a Kenyan historian who died on January 2.

The last time I met Kantai was last year, when the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (IHJR) that promotes reconciliation in societies divided by historical conflicts and human right abuses – whose head offices are based in The Hague, Netherlands, was here in Kenya to initiate a project dubbed as Engaging Kenyan Historians in National History Making and Reconciliation.

In this round table meeting Prof. Kantai distinguished himself as “he readily differed with his colleagues on such burning questions as the role of Lenana and other ethnic chiefs in the resistance to Britain’s colonization efforts; the origins of the agrarian conflicts that continue to beset us; the meaning of the Mau Mau ant-colonial rebellion; and the part played by such legends as Jomo Kenyatta,” writes Philip Ochieng, a Kenyan veteran journalist.

Indeed, for the moments we were together Kantai was out there untying my understanding of Kenyan history as its documented in our textbooks. He was a historical researcher whose bubbling facts will suspend your thinking and imagination at the edge of every historical issue you inquired on. His views wrestled with the popular history - were a tapestry of an endowed mind, a great memory, extensive research, huge experience in teaching, and a man of his own Kenya. In this regard, Ochieng his colleague at Alliance Boys High Schools writes that he was one of the greatest and most courageous thinkers, perhaps our sharpest historian.

This project by Columbia University which is out “to involve the use of shared historical narratives in promoting national healing, support the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and putting right Kenya’s distorted history,” as it was stated by Prof. Elazar Barkan, who is the Co-Director Centre for the Study of Human Rights and SIPA Human Right Program; will miss Kantai’s input.

Nevertheless, Prof. Mamadou Diouf, the Director of African Studies (IAS) at Columbia University calls Kenyans to realize the place of history from the internal and external conflicts they are going through - that they can be resolved through the right understanding of history. That is why the IHJR has been in the forefront in resolving conflict between countries such as Israel and Palestine, India and Pakistan, former Yugoslavia among others.

It is this project that Kantai had a passion to participate. The project is built on three phase process – spanning at times into years with the challenge of adapting it into specific conflicts. Beginning with negotiations - where historians and scholars are selected to examine and evaluate data while keen not to trade historical veracity for political expediency. Secondly, they engage the public via the production and dissemination of educational materials for schools, to the media and involving of community leaders in public discussion. Thirdly, they match to networking of the scholars, educators and public opinion leaders to provide a capacity for countering the manipulation of historical myths and unresolved legacies.

Ambassador Betwell Kiplagat, the Chairman of Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission, attended the launch and called the IHJR project to focus on land, managing diversity and ethnicity, corruption and Kenyan elections. Yes, Dr. Kiremia Mwiria, the assistant minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology was the chief guest. He lamented that scholars in general have failed the nation by manipulating history to achieve their selfish ends. Kantai had an opportunity to highlight that Kenyan History has gone through a deplorable metamorphosis over the years – from national hood to a tribal tool that has contributed to tribal violence, yes genocide in some countries like Rwanda.

Prof. John Lonsdole of Cambridge University, a fellow researcher with Kantai in harnessing the Kenya National Archives materials, pointed out that all nations have their embarrassing history as they rise, which can set people against each other, people should learn to forget the past albeit remembering their history - as they were brain storming the relevance of the discipline in healing and reconciliation – they concurred with Kantai that those in power should not determine the history of the people.

As if in agreement with Kantai, Prof. Jacqueline Klopp of the school of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University said that since history has been tattered over the years, Kenyan primary and secondary history text books content need to be reviewed. She added that experience from other countries have seen full revision of history text books thus a new history curriculum that enables the learners to appreciate their mosaic of cultures and diverse tribes.

Prof Kantai from his laborious research on Kenyan history coupled with his teaching years at the University of Nairobi wrote a book that was never published. He told me that – the government of the day must have felt uncomfortable with his - against the grain - manuscript. After his fluid departure from the University of Nairobi lecture halls, he headed the research department cum columnist with the defunct Weekend Mail before resuming his professorship at United States International of University, Kenya.

In resonance with Kantai’s world view – the discussion agreed that it is apparent that politics should not arm-twist the learning of history. Yes, Dr. Mwiria articulated that Kenyan politics is based on ethnicity, not policy or ideology - pointing out that scholars need to go an extra mile to a mend the destruction they have afforded to Kenyans. Mwiria resonated with his colleagues, scholars, in engaging Kenyan historian in national history making and gluing Kenyans: At the backdrop of the horrific violence and animosity that characterized the 2007 post general elections.

IHJR called upon the grand coalition government to incorporate Kenyan historian with a dignified standing in formulating healing mechanisms. They echoed that bitterness is still running deep among Kenyans, but unfortunately politicians are focused on the next election. The strong engagement of the civil society in healing is needed to avoid future violence as the next election is approaching, 2012. As the accord reflects, one key element in bring the country together involves addressing what happened as honestly as possible: Hence the place for historians – the late Prof Ben Ole Kantai.