Journal of Language, Technology & Entrepreneurship in Africa

(De)Centring Ubuntu? Africa’s damaged Dignity in Xenophobia and Afrophobia in Development

Agnes Behr — 2025-02-07

Africa reels from a damaged dignity due to the imperialist’s social, political, cultural, and economic blows. It is irresolute of its place in human affairs. The post-colonial Africa and its nuances toe the line in racial identities. The result is a deep embedment of Africaness as analogous to an inferior identity. Perhaps African ‘being’ juxtaposed to other racial identities may explain xenophobia as a self-preservation mechanism. However, Afrophobia is disconcerting as it displays poor self-esteem derived from global Eurocentric historical power structures. This article addresses the question, how can Africans and Africa instrumentalise history to promote an African agency in ubuntu/communalism in collaborations within and beyond the continent? The paper attempts to nuance xeno-afrophobia using Afrocentrism as a theory and methodology through the exposure of colonial legacies and structures. It untangles the malady of Africans hatred of other Africans as self-projection, self-deprecating actions, and inactions. The article uses secondary data through careful selection of literature to bring forth an awareness of Africans knowing, and knowledge while taking precaution from assuming African communalism is unique to the continent and better than Westernism. The article promotes the idea of embracing the new/modernism while taking precaution to retain certain African communal values anchored in the ontological and methodological communalism.

Heteroglossic approach to Discourse Analysis in Selected Languages spoken in Kenya: A Case of ‘Matatu’ Touts in Nairobi and Kiambu Counties in Kenya.

Gitonga Ndung’u — 2025-02-07

This paper reflects on duplicity of meanings in a single informal utterance. This refers to the several interpretations that can be adduced to an utterance in the course of informal interaction. This study investigates discourse in which we investigate the multiplicity of meanings embedded in single informal expressions in Kiswahili, Kikuyu, English and Slang as used by public transport matatu touts (minibus touts). This study employed a qualitative research approach and focused on observation and recording of touts at various public transport bus termini. Our research population was composed of matatu touts plying routes in Nairobi and Kiambu counties of Kenya. Informal interactions between touts, drivers and passengers were recorded. We sampled 28 out of 127 expressions that characterize their day-to-day language use. Data coding to facilitate text and content analysis of the expressions used by matatu touts. The findings of this study illustrate that despite there being several interpretations to an encoded informal utterance, this does not hinder the receiver from decoding the intended meaning of the speaker. This language is characterized by morphosyntactical principles in various language registers within the confines of the given context. This paper argues that matatu touts in Kenya maintain the use of a structurally coded and informal language of communication to facilitate fluid interaction in their line of work.

Idéologies dans les manuels de français langue étrangère au Kenya : analyse critique du discours de deux textes tirés du manuel Au Sommet

Jacqueline Jebet-Kandagor — 2025-02-07

Cet article présente des idéologies dans le manuel de français Au Sommet actuellement en usage dans les écoles secondaires kenyanes. Le contenu des manuels scolaires n'est jamais neutre. Le discours des manuels scolaires contient les savoirs à enseigner aux apprenants ainsi que des valeurs et des normes qu'un pays chercherait à inculquer chez ses futurs citoyens. Les deux textes tirés du manuel ont été analysé à l'aide de l'analyse critique du discours de Fairclough. Les résultats révèlent que le discours de ce manuel reflète les changements sociopolitiques subis au Kenya et les aspirations pour son développement économique. Les idéologies principales dans ces deux textes sont l'afrocentrisme, le nationalisme économique, l’industrialisme, l’agrarianisme et le socialisme.

Harnessing the Potential of Indigenous Knowledge in the development of Cultural Industries in Esanland, Nigeria

Charles Onomudo-Aluede — 2025-02-07

The Esan is a unique ethnic group in the Edo Central Senatorial district of Edo State of Nigeria. This work gives a detailed account on the nature of the people’s indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) which is eclectic and transdisciplinary. Within this transdisciplinary framework, is the (w)holistic conception of knowledge that pays no heed to the decompartmentalization of knowledge as conceived in the Western sense. Today, this age-old tradition is threatened not just by Western forces of acculturation, but by the same indigenous people who now feel that anything indigenous is fetish, heathenistic and retrogressive. In this study, review of relevant literature, interviews, observational techniques and group discussions were used in eliciting data. Although there are specific Esan practices worth propagating, commodifying the arts and crafts of the Esan race will require censorship lest we run the risks of commodifying our arts and crafts and dehumanizing humanities.

COVID-19 Global Pandemic and the East African Community Integration Process: An Analytical Context of Kenya-Tanzania Relations

Caroline Shisubili-Maingi — 2025-02-07

The impact of a global pandemic on regional integration cannot be underestimated. Cooperation and conflicts are witnessed within regional blocks as individual states adopt strategic measures in response to the global pandemic. Such was the case in 2020-2021 with the advent of COVID-19. The East Africa Community (EAC) is not an exception to this reality. Focusing on Kenya-Tanzania relations, this study explores the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the EAC’s integration process. The study argues that the COVID-19 pandemic had significant implications on the foreign policy behaviour of partner states on the integration process within the EAC. To advance this argument, the study explores the Kenya-Tanzania relations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The neo-regionalism theory is adopted which underscores openness and cooperation within the global economy, and emphasizes the importance of non-state actors, in driving the integration process. The study finds that the conceptualisation of the COVID-19 pandemic by the respective Heads of State of Kenya and Tanzania resulted in differing strategic responses leading to strained relations between the two states, a situation that impacted the EAC integration process.

Female characters in the plays of Kithaka wa Mberia

Mikhail Gromov — 2025-02-07

This article is a kind of continuation of two previously published articles about the female characters in the works of two distinguished Kenyan writers of Swahili expression – Kyallo Wadi Wamitila and Ken Walibora (Gromov 2015, 2020). In these articles I attempted to outline the roles and importance of female characters in the works of two topmost Kenyan Swahili novelists. This study is based on the plays of Kithaka wa Mberia (born 1955), who also holds one of the leading positions in modern Kenyan literature in Swahili. Initially wa Mberia became renowned as a poet – he has authored seven collections of poetry, and is arguably the only Swahili poet in Kenya who uses the poetic technique of free verse.

The Club of Scholars

Macharia Munene — 2025-02-07

In congratulating PhD graduates, Ohio University President Charles Ping used to say, “Welcome to the Club of Scholars”. It is an exclusive club for interacting with intellectual ‘elders’ in various club houses called universities. Not all those admitted, however, remain active members. Club houses and ‘elders’ in Kenya in the 1980s were limited. ‘Elders’ at the Department of History in the Nairobi University included Gideon Were, Godfrey Muriuki, Idha Salim, Karim Jan Mohamed, Yusuf Nzibo, Vincent Simiyu, and E.S. Atieno Odhiambo. These, and other, ‘elders’ tended to think of new and youngish lecturers as what Atieno Odhiambo called academic ‘house boys’. Atieno had big curiosity, wondered what I was intellectually up to, shared thoughts and writings, and gave good advice on handling Africanists.

A Case for Spirituality in the 21st Century Education

Martin Waweru-Mburu — 2025-02-07

If 21^st Century education is to serve its desired goals and purposes, then spirituality must be a part of it. Scholars and researchers have ignored and neglected spirituality in equal measure . One obvious reason is because it is very hard to quantify, measure spirituality using the revered standards. I mean, how can we express spirituality in percentages: XVY is 73% spiritual.