Usawiri Wa Mwanasiasa Wa Afrika Katika Ushairi Wa Kiswahili

ABSTRACT

This research investigated the portrayal of the African politician in Kiswahili poetry.

Basically, this research intended to shed light on how different poets have portrayed

African politicians creatively with a purpose of revealing how these leaders have

changed since colonial times to the multi-party period. The research assumed that

political leaders played a great role in the development of their individual countries and

Africa as a whole. The attainment of various developmental goals such as Kenya’s

Vision 2030 and strengthening of the East African Community is to a large extent

pegged on political decisions. The objectives of this research were to investigate the

role of Kiswahili poetry in preserving the history of the African politician, to examine

the traits of pre-independence African politician according to Kiswahili poets and to

evaluate the changes that the African politician has undergone since independence

according to Kiswahili poets. The researcher assumed that the poet speaks for the

citizen who gets adversely affected by decisions and actions taken by politicians. The

study was guided by Romanticism theory developed by William Wordsworth and

Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Post-colonial Theory which is associated with the works

of Edward W. Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Homi K. Bhabha. The study was

carried out in the library where purposive sampling method was used to collect data

from selected anthologies. Qualitative analysis of the selected poems was done guided

by the research objectives. This thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter one gives

the introduction to the study. In chapter two there is a review of related literature which

also covers theoretical framework. Chapter three comprises of the research

methodology. In chapter four and five, data is analyzed, presented and research

findings discussed. Finally, chapter six summarizes the findings of the study and gives

recommendations for further research. The findings of this study revealed that the

seemingly royal pre-independence African politician changed drastically after

independence was attained and became a tormentor of the very people he had sworn to

protect. Likewise, politicians who appeared to champion the struggle for multi-party

democracy are yet to live to the letter and spirit of that democracy. Despite these

shortcomings, it is evident that the African continent has a few political role models

whom the current and future politicians can emulate. The findings of this research will

benefit Kiswahili scholars, writers and all political stakeholders in Africa and beyond