THE UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG

What happened in the gazetting of Kakamega forest, and what happened to the Luhya in
particular, clearly elucidates what many indigenous people in the Tropical World experience
in the realm of environmental and resource decision-making, management and legislation.
This is largely rooted in the colonial administrative and institutional framing process as
evidenced by British system of indirect rule administration, not only in Kenya but also else
where in Africa. For instance, in his writings about Native Administration in the British
Territories, Lord Hailey reported that:
The indigenous communities in resource rich areas such as forests were not involved in the
legislation decision–making process at any level and certainly not in any matters relating to
environment or natural resource management. 685
This same analysis was made by John Cell in response to the British indirect rule regarding
natural resource management in Ghana. He noted that when Ghana was first colonised by the
British, they created a loose system of local governance in regard to the management of
natural resources headed by a chief who was in most cases outside the immediate community
responsible for a defines resource system such as a forest. The chief was an appointee of the
colonial head, the Governor, and was not accountable to the local people he headed. 686 In the
same regard, Delflem who made a comparative study on law enforcement in British Colonial
Africa points out that:
Backed by power of the colonial government in guise of the district commissioner, the
chiefs’ powers of arrest and seizure and control, over allocation and use of forest and other
landed resources were unlimited. His powers were limited by his accountability to the
District Commissioner who was also in turn accountable to a distant colonial official. The
chiefs were therefore relatively free to exploit their subjects. 687
Therefore the above expositions explain the current flaws in the forest management in
Tropical regions in general and Kakamega in particular. We are specifically talking about
what happens to resource communities in the realm of institutionalism and management of
forest and other related environmental resources. Like the Luhya of Kakamega, many of the
communities around forests often wake up to the inconvenient truth from the government
policy making machinery, informing them to give up their resource rights and interests,
without prior consultation or involvement in the gazetting process. Indeed lack of
participation in the decision-making process is one of the key issues of concern that was
raised by many of the local community elders in Kakamega. This is especially important in
natural resources decision-making and management, since most of the local people often find
their livelihoods being part of the protected areas such as Kakamega forest.
685
Hailey, L. 1951. Native Adminstration in the British African Teritories: A genaral Survey of the System of
Administration Part iv. London: His Majesty’s Stationary office 34. Pp 358-361
686
Cell, J.W. 1970. The Britsh Colonial Admisntration in the Ninteenth Century. The Policy Making Process.
New Haven:Yale University Press.
687
Deflem, M. 1994. British Colonial Africa: A comparative Analysis of Imperial Polcing in Nyasaland, The
Gold Coast and Kenya. London: Sage. Pp 53-55.
186