A HISTORY OF REPRESENTATIVE POLITICS AND THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE KADIMO CLAN OF YIMBO IN SIAYA COUNTY, KENYA, FROM 1896 -1963.

Abstract

This study is about a history of representative politics and the socio-economic development of the Kadimo clan of Yimbo in Siaya county, Kenya, from 1896 to 1963. The study is guided by three objectives; to examine the evolution of representative politics of the Kadimo clan of Yimbo between 1896 and 1963, to determine the new forms of representative politics of the Kadimo clan of Yimbo from the onset of colonialism and to establish the influence of representative politics on socio-economic development of the Kadimo people during the colonial period. The assumptions of the study were that the history of representative politics of the Kadimo clan could be traced from the period 1896 when the British sent a messenger to Oloo of the Kadimo clan of Yimbo that they wished to make him the first colonial chief of the Yimbo people, that new forms of representative politics emerged among the Kadimo clan of Yimbo after 1896 and that lack of political representation affected socio-economic development of the Kadimo people during the colonial period. The study used Postcolonial and Underdevelopment theories to examine the history of representative politics and its socio-economic development of the Kadimo clan. Methodologically, the study used descriptive research design. The study was conducted in Yimbo, Siaya county. The respondents were purposively sampled using a snowballing technique. The study targeted 6, 210 Kadimo people in Usigu as per the 2019 census. The sample size was 30 respondents drawn from Usigu for interviews. The sources of data included: oral sources, archival sources and secondary sources, and were corroborated to meet the reliability and objectivity of the research. Data was collected through oral interviews and focus group discussions. The study analysed and presented data through Qualitative Data Analysis. The findings of the study discussed in chapters four, five and six were as follows; Jo-Kadimo found people of Bantu origin in Yimbo on their arrival and lived among them; Dholuo became the lingua franca in Yimbo; Kadimo homestead had many huts and they were polygamist; they practised mixed farming and there was a chief council called Buch Piny; Dimo was the first ruoth; the first colonial chief was appointed in 1902; there were conspiracies to remove incumbent representatives from office; there were no schools in the location until 1928 when Usenge School was built; there no health centres in the location and the Yimbo people hated to pay taxes to the colonial government. Chapter seven provides discussion on the summary, conclusion and recommendations of the research. The study has contributed to the historiography of the Kadimo clan.