Political Trends and Leadership Patterns in the Abagusii Community During the Decolonization Period from 1940-1963 in Kenya

The history of the Abagusii has not been adequately examined by the previous scholars since most of the scholars who have ventured into this subject have done it at wider levels of global, continental, regional and/or national while ignoring local level studies of specific African communities such as the Abagusii. Local level studies are critical as they unearth some of the political patterns of behaviour from individual communities towards effective participation in the national politics of independent Kenya. The study aimed at assessing Political Trends and Leadership Patterns in the Abagusii Community during the Decolonization Period from 1940-1963 in Kenya. Descriptive research design enabled data collection from both primary and secondary sources. This study was conducted in the larger Gusiiland in Kenya. Primary data was collected through oral interviews, questionnaires and archival sources while secondary data was obtained from libraries by consulting relevant text books, previous reports and political journals, Newspapers, magazines, articles, unpublished theses, dissertations’, conferences and seminar papers and periodicals. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected. The results of the study indicated that the Abagusii community joined other Kenyans in the nationalist struggle by their leaders to form a united front through KAU and their own local political associations like the KU and the KHAA. Reforms introduced in Gusiiland included expansion of education opportunities, the field of land reform and agricultural improvement.