5 - Detention without Trial, Deportation and Security among the Kuria of Tanzania, 1960s–1990s
Corresponding Author(s) : Iddy Ramadhani Magoti
Afrika Zamani,
No. 27 (2019): Afrika Zamani: An Annual Journal of African History
Abstract
During the colonial and postcolonial periods, African states, including Tanzania, introduced detention without trial and deportation of some people as a strategy for maintaining peace and security. The assumption was that detainees and deportees threatened peace in their respective areas, that their detention and deportation would bring peace and stability, and that eventually they would change their behaviour and become good citizens. To respond to this perceived threat, the colonial and postcolonial governments enacted laws at different intervals from the 1920s to the 1990s. Several people were detained and deported in Tanzania under these laws. Using archival sources, documentary review, newspapers and oral information, this article examines the extent to which detention and deportation helped to maintain peace and security as well as change the behaviours of those who were detained and deported among the Kuria in Tanzania. It argues that the detention and deportation strategy created a peaceful environment temporarily but rarely changed the behaviour of the deportees and detainees. Unlike other places where detention and deportation were used to silence political elites who opposed the existing regimes, the detention and deportation strategy among the Kuria mainly targeted notorious cattle raiders whose undertakings instigated inter-clan conflicts.
‘Tunakuweka Kizuizini kwa Usalama wako na Usalama wa Taifa’
(We detain you for your security and the security of the nation)
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- Abuso, P. A., 1980, A Traditional History of the Bakuria C. A.D 1400–1914, Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau.
- Benites, K., n.d, ‘Repatriation of ethnic groups’, Human Rights and Human Welfare: An Online Journal of Academic Literature Review.
- Conboy, K., 1978, ‘Detention without trial in Kenya’, Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 8 (2): 441–61.
- Elias, S. B., 2009, ‘Rethinking “preventive detention” from a comparative perspective: three frameworks for detaining terrorist suspects’, Columbia Human Rights Law Review 44 (99).
- Fleisher, M. L., 2000, Kuria Cattle Raiders: Violence and Vigilantism on the Tanzania/Kenya Frontier, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
- Heald, S., 2005, ‘State, law and vigilantism in northern Tanzania’, African Affairs, 105 (419).
- Koh, J. L., Srikantiah, J. and Tumlin, K. C., 2011, ‘Deportation Without Due Process’, Report submitted to the United States of America, 12 October 2018.
- Kungu, D. M., Omari, R. and Kipsang, S., 2015, ‘Journey into the indigenous conflict management mechanism among the Abakuria Community, Kenya: the beauty and the beast’, European Scientific Journal 11 (16): 202–17.
- Magoti, I. R., 2017, ‘Ethnic Identity and the State: The dynamics of Intra-and Inter- ethnic Relations in the Mara River Basin, 1900–2010’, PhD Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.
- Nyaimaga, E., 2009, ‘The Role of Grass Roots Leadership in conflict Resolutions: A Case of Three Selected Villages in Tarime District’, Post-graduate Diploma Dissertation, Dodoma Institute of Rural Development Planning.
- Peter, C. M., 1997, ‘Incarcerating the innocent: preventive detention in Tanzania’, Human Rights Quarterly 19 (1): 113–35.
- Ramadhani, I., 2007, ‘Ethnic Conflicts in Tarime District from the Late Pre-colonial period to the Present’, MA Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.
- Stein, S. D., n.d, ‘A Lecture on the Armenian Genocide’, 6 November 2018.
- Tanner, R. E. S., 1966, ‘Cattle theft in Musoma 1958–59’, Tanzania Notes and Records 65. Ungor, U. U., n. d, ‘The Armenian Genocide, 1915’.
- Waryuba, M. S. and Savelia, P., 1993, ‘Cattle Theft in Tanzania: Mara Region as Case Study’, Research Paper, University of Dar es Salaam.
- William, D. V., 1982, ‘State coercion against peasant farmers: the Tanzanian case’, Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 20.
- Zaman, M., 2015. ‘Detention Without Trial: Historical Evolution, States’ Authority and International Law’, PhD Thesis, University of Nottingham.
References
Abuso, P. A., 1980, A Traditional History of the Bakuria C. A.D 1400–1914, Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau.
Benites, K., n.d, ‘Repatriation of ethnic groups’, Human Rights and Human Welfare: An Online Journal of Academic Literature Review.
Conboy, K., 1978, ‘Detention without trial in Kenya’, Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 8 (2): 441–61.
Elias, S. B., 2009, ‘Rethinking “preventive detention” from a comparative perspective: three frameworks for detaining terrorist suspects’, Columbia Human Rights Law Review 44 (99).
Fleisher, M. L., 2000, Kuria Cattle Raiders: Violence and Vigilantism on the Tanzania/Kenya Frontier, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
Heald, S., 2005, ‘State, law and vigilantism in northern Tanzania’, African Affairs, 105 (419).
Koh, J. L., Srikantiah, J. and Tumlin, K. C., 2011, ‘Deportation Without Due Process’, Report submitted to the United States of America, 12 October 2018.
Kungu, D. M., Omari, R. and Kipsang, S., 2015, ‘Journey into the indigenous conflict management mechanism among the Abakuria Community, Kenya: the beauty and the beast’, European Scientific Journal 11 (16): 202–17.
Magoti, I. R., 2017, ‘Ethnic Identity and the State: The dynamics of Intra-and Inter- ethnic Relations in the Mara River Basin, 1900–2010’, PhD Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.
Nyaimaga, E., 2009, ‘The Role of Grass Roots Leadership in conflict Resolutions: A Case of Three Selected Villages in Tarime District’, Post-graduate Diploma Dissertation, Dodoma Institute of Rural Development Planning.
Peter, C. M., 1997, ‘Incarcerating the innocent: preventive detention in Tanzania’, Human Rights Quarterly 19 (1): 113–35.
Ramadhani, I., 2007, ‘Ethnic Conflicts in Tarime District from the Late Pre-colonial period to the Present’, MA Thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.
Stein, S. D., n.d, ‘A Lecture on the Armenian Genocide’, 6 November 2018.
Tanner, R. E. S., 1966, ‘Cattle theft in Musoma 1958–59’, Tanzania Notes and Records 65. Ungor, U. U., n. d, ‘The Armenian Genocide, 1915’.
Waryuba, M. S. and Savelia, P., 1993, ‘Cattle Theft in Tanzania: Mara Region as Case Study’, Research Paper, University of Dar es Salaam.
William, D. V., 1982, ‘State coercion against peasant farmers: the Tanzanian case’, Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 20.
Zaman, M., 2015. ‘Detention Without Trial: Historical Evolution, States’ Authority and International Law’, PhD Thesis, University of Nottingham.