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The risks of knowledge : investigations into the death of the Hon. Minister John Robert Ouko in Kenya, 1990 / David William Cohen and E. S. Atieno Odhiambo.
Van Pelt Library DT433.582.O94 C64 2004
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Cohen, David William.
- Series:
- New African histories series
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Ouko, Robert John, 1932-1990--Death and burial.
- Ouko, Robert John.
- Ouko, Robert John, 1932-1990.
- Kenya--Politics and government--2002-.
- Kenya.
- Politics and government.
- Physical Description:
- xv, 344 pages ; 23 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Athens : Ohio University Press ; Nairobi : East African Educational Publishers, [2004]
- Summary:
- In February 1990, assailants murdered Kenya's distinguished minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Robert Ouko. The horror of the attack, the images of his mutilated and burned corpse, and the revelations of the pressures, conflicts, and fears he faced in his last week focused national and international attention on the extent of government corruption during the Moi era. The story of a death foretold, this book brilliantly examines the multiple and unfinished investigations into the crime.
- Powerfully argued, this complex and provocative study reveals the turmoil and untidiness beneath the smooth surfaces of historical narratives. Authors David William Cohen and E. S. Atieno Odhiambo raise critical questions about the production of knowledge and claims of truth, which extend well beyond the changing political landscape of postindependence Kenya. They also argue that the unresolved nature of the crime demands-as does Africa-to be understood not only in its generalities, but also in its specificities. The Risks of Knowledge is both a major reexamination of the public record of the Ouko murder and a call for a more detailed engagement with Africa's historical and present complexities.
- Contents:
- Prolegomenon: Robert Ouko, a Life and a Death ix
- A Death Reported 1
- Dead Bodies in Kenya 3
- A New Habitus 7
- The State 8
- The Ouko Dossier 12
- Indeterminacies 16
- Economies of Knowledge 20
- Social Histories 24
- States of Loss 32
- Chapter 1 Investigating a Death in Kenya 33
- Locks and Keys 39
- Commissions 43
- Chapter 2 In a Nation of White Cars 46
- Kenyans and Their Women 47
- Kenyans and Their Man 48
- White Cars, Gum Boots, and Multiparty Democracy 50
- Hearing Selina Speak 53
- The Headlining of Selina 67
- Chapter 3 Robert Ouko's Pain 70
- A State of Mind in Kenya 72
- "These are the things that are killing me" 73
- Last Days 78
- Prayers for the Oukos 82
- Mandela's Release 88
- Chapter 4 The Note 90
- An Inventory of Mbajah's Statements 92
- Troon and Mbajah 94
- A Marriage Game 95
- Mbajah: Reader and Author 99
- Papers Seen and Unseen 107
- The Dramaturgy of Incarceration 115
- Chapter 5 Readers of the Found Remains 117
- Remains of the Dead 118
- The Force of Difference 123
- The Temporal Work of a First Observation 125
- The Shifting Stage 130
- Chapter 6 "Why, Mr. President?" 134
- "J'accuse!" 136
- Husband and Wife 137
- The Author Anguka 139
- Two Governmental Systems 140
- Indispensability and Dispensability 143
- A Terrifying Triangle 146
- The Presence of Anguka 149
- Chapter 7 No Stone Unturned 158
- Chapter 8 Ouko: A Biography of African Nationalism 172
- Triumphal Beginnings and False Starts 173
- Lions in Winter 177
- The Sticky Thing Called Development 181
- Molasses 183
- The Second International Sphere 188
- Chapter 9 Contradictions of Development 193
- Revival 195
- Roman Holidays 199
- Molasses Narratives 204
- Death by Molasses 211
- "Cleaned his slate" 218
- Chapter 10 The Negotiation of a State of Mind 220
- Dramaturgical Moments 222
- A Sister's Brief 225
- Last Conversations 231
- A Church in Kenya 234
- The Possibility of Ouko 242
- Chapter 11 "A White Car" Becomes a Truth 246
- Authentic Voices 250
- Work of Truth, Truth of Work 254
- Conclusion: The Risks of Knowledge 258
- Epistemologies 259
- Producing Knowledge 261
- The Pain of Others 267
- The Excision of Ouko 270.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-331) and index.
- ISBN:
- 0821415972
- 0821415980
- OCLC:
- 55097780
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