Structural oblivion and perspectivism: land and belonging among contemporary white Kenyans

Abstract

This paper explores how white Kenyans descended from colonial settlers understand their own entitlements to land. In 2004, Maasai activists drove livestock onto white Kenyan owned farms in Laikipia District as part of a broader bid for reparations for the colonial administration’s land seizures. White Kenyan responses draw on longstanding colonial discourse to criticize Maasai land use and what they frame as the “romance” of Maasai activism. I deem their occluded understanding an example of “structural oblivion”; that is, difficulty understanding the perspectives and resentments of marginalized groups. I explain too that pressures for Community Based Conservation have led some white Kenyans to make (partial) concessions to the alternative perspectives of the communities bordering their lands.