Political economy of Buluyia : 1900-1964

The colonial era in Kenya is characterized by a sharp exacerbation of the contradictions inherent in the colonial political economy. These were contradictions between the imperialist British metropolitan government and the imperialist colonial state in Kenya on one hand and the unprecedented upsurge of the nationalist struggle in the colony on the other. They generated political conflicts, struggles and. re-alignments that made necessary the-adoption of measures of reform to resolve these contradictions by both the metropolitan power and the colonial state. One of the most importa~t results of these conscious efforts was the creation of a new necessity namely decolonization that laid down the prospects for the final liquidation of colonialism. This historie development possessed and still possesses decisive significance in relation to the subsequent trajectory of post-colonial developments in the political economy of Kenya. This study highlights and analyses the course of colonialism in. Buluyi~ and the rest of the country using the basis provided by the epistemology of materialist political economy. Within this epiSt~mology, concept~ of historical and dialectical, materialis~· are,- used to provide a correct understanding _ of the numerous problems connected with imperia~ colonial policies pursued by Bri tain and the. colonial state in'Kenya. Thus, the study examines ,the Luyia precolonial srstems of pro5iuction and a,nalyses their encounter ~ith the capitalisi mode of prodqction~ntroduced through colonialism and extrapolates on·thepatterns of social and political, development in the area.