The year the Europeans seized Jomo Kenyatta (1952)…
““The year the Europeans seized Jomo Kenyatta (1952), Chepusepa and I were sharing our homestead with Arimo, a Teso, who was a headman of the local road crew. One day, Arimo's son found an ostrich's nest between Amudat and Katabok, while he was watching cattle. There were six eggs, and both of our cowherds took one. The brought the two eggs to our home and put them in the ashes near the fire. After two weeks, they hatched. I remember the baby ostriches walking about, eating millet and stones. Arimo took care of them, and they grew quite large. One night a leopard got the female, but the male continued to thrive, and Arimo harvested its feathers twice. Then, one day, when it was fully grown, our ostrich wandered into the town of Amudat. A European saw it and asked the people, "Where did this come from?" "Oh, it is the 'ox' of a man named Arimo, they told him. The European immediately summoned Arimo to Amudat. "Do you have license to keep an ostrich?" he demanded. "Of course not!" Arimo replied. "This ostrich doesn't belong to anyone else--it's mine. So why do I need a license?" But the European decreed,"From this day on, you must not keep this ostrich without a license. If you do, you will go to jail for stealing from the government!" That was only the beginning. The Europeans have been seizing our pet ostriches ever since. When other people heard about Arimo's trouble, they killed their ostriches so they could at least have the feathers. Another man was so angry, he killed his female ostrich and destroyed all her eggs.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
A colonial-era anecdote about an African man's struggle to keep an ostrich without a license, illustrating oppressive imperial policies and their impact on local life
In simple terms: Colonial rule imposed restrictive licenses, disrupting local customs and livelihoods
Colonial oppression disrupted local livelihoods
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- educational lecture
- historical article
- museum exhibit
- policy discussion
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What were broader impacts of such licensing laws?
- How did locals resist or adapt to colonial restrictions?
May oversimplify complex historical contexts and omit indigenous agency