Narrative and property in Kibagare

Abstract

The challenges associated with the allocation of ownership of property related to shelter in post-conflict environments is a constant and pressing concern. This article is based on research undertaken in Kibagare, a small village within Nairobi, which was born out of the struggle for independence and the conflicts and population displacements with which independence was associated. The nature of the disputes, some violent, over property ownership was investigated particularly as it affected household claims to their shelters and the land on which they lie. Who owns what and whose claim is paramount are open question in Kibagare: there are a number of different narratives people deploy to support and also explain and justify their claims. To understand land as property in Kibagare is not only to understand the play of narratives but also more critically to see how these narratives appeal to different conceptions of property, competing ideas about what underlies the right to a claim and what provides authority for that claim. Understanding this provides critical insights into why land ownership in Kibagare is typified both by stability and volatility. It will reveal how the challenges associated with the administration of land are not simply or necessarily the result of a post-conflict situation alone. It is the result of the understandings that underlie the various land claims and stakeholder narratives that provide the ballast that give the claims weight.