Rhythms of the Rift: A Cultural Journey Through Burundi, Uganda, and Kenya" — My Upcoming East Africa Tour

When travellers imagine East Africa, their minds often drift to the sweeping savannahs of the Serengeti or the dramatic wildebeest migrations of the Maasai Mara. Yet, the true heartbeat of the region does not reside in its megafauna, but in its people. A journey tracing the crescent from Burundi, through Uganda, and into Kenya offers a profound exploration of human resilience, artistry, and community. By deliberately stepping away from the safari jeep and into the markets, kingdoms, and villages, one uncovers a tapestry woven from ancient traditions and dynamic modern realities.

The journey begins in Burundi, a small, mountainous nation nestled in the Great Lakes region. Often bypassed by mainstream tourism, Burundi offers an incredibly raw and intimate window into Central-East African life. The defining characteristic of Burundian culture is its profound relationship with rhythm, best embodied by the Royal Drummers of Gishora. In Burundian tradition, the drum (ingoma) is not merely a musical instrument; it is a sacred vessel representing fertility, regeneration, and the ancient monarchy. To witness the drummers perform is to experience a masterclass in collective energy. The performers leap, dance, and shout in perfect synchronicity around a central drum, their faces etched with pride. Beyond the performance, daily life along the shores of Lake Tanganyika revolves around communal agriculture and fishing. In the capital of Gitega and the bustling streets of Bujumbura, the lifestyle is defined by the umuganda—a spirit of communal labour—and the warmth of shared meals featuring fresh lake fish and cassava bread, offering a gentle, rhythmic introduction to the region's hospitality.

Travelling north into Uganda, the landscape shifts, and the cultural complexity deepens. Known historically as a crossroads of Bantu, Nilotic, and Central Sudanic peoples, Uganda’s identity is anchored by its surviving traditional kingdoms. In Kampala, the capital city, the majestic Buganda Kingdom takes centre stage. Visiting the Mengo Palace and the historic parliament (Bulange) reveals how centuries-old monarchies seamlessly coexist with modern administrative governance. The Baganda people maintain a lifestyle deeply rooted in etiquette, respect, and a love for culinary heritage. A staple of daily life here is matooke (steamed green bananas), meticulously prepared by wrapping the fruit in banana leaves and steaming it for hours over a wood fire—a communal culinary ritual shared across generations. 

The final leg of the tour crosses into Kenya, a nation where hyper-modernity meets deeply entrenched ancestral lifestyles. In Nairobi, the vibrant tech and art hub of the continent, the lifestyle is fast-paced, creative, and cosmopolitan. The city’s markets, like the Maasai Market, act as living galleries showcasing the intricate beadwork, wood carvings, and khanga textiles that define East African fashion and identity. However, to understand Kenya's cultural diversity, one must venture toward the coast and the northern rangelands. Along the Indian Ocean, the Swahili culture thrives in places like Lamu and Mombasa. Here, centuries of trade between Africa, Arabia, and Asia have birthed a distinct lifestyle characterised by narrow stone alleys, carved wooden doors, the aromatic scents of spiced pilau, and a relaxed philosophy known as pole pole (slowly, slowly). 

Venture into the lush, high-altitude landscapes of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and you encounter the Kalenjin people, a Nilotic ethnic group whose cultural lifestyle is deeply intertwined with the geography of the ridges. Historically pastoralists and skilled agro-pastoralists, the Kalenjin possess a rich social structure governed by age-sets (murenet) and traditional rites of passage that emphasise physical endurance, mental fortitude, and deep respect for ancestral wisdom. In contemporary global culture, this heritage of resilience has manifested in an extraordinary way: the Kalenjin are world-renowned as the "running tribe," producing a staggering number of the world’s elite long-distance marathon champions. This athletic dominance is structurally supported by a lifestyle centered around high-altitude living, a diet rich in traditional staples like ugali and fermented milk (mursik), and an ingrained community ethos of quiet determination. Visiting a Kalenjin homestead offers an intimate glimpse into a community that seamlessly balances global sporting excellence with a fierce dedication to preserving their language, oral histories, and pastoral roots. 

Focusing an East African tour on its people reveals a region that is far more than a backdrop for wildlife photography. Starting from the sacred drumbeats of Burundi, moving through the historical kingdoms and culinary traditions of Uganda, and concluding amidst the coastal Swahili rhythms and pastoral endurance of Kenya, this journey highlights the true essence of travel: human connection. It reminds us that the ultimate beauty of East Africa lies in the shared laughter in a crowded market, the pride of a traditional dance, and the enduring warmth of its inhabitants.

Beyond the Binary

The Dahomey Amazons were an all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey, which existed from the 17th to the late 19th century in what is now modern-day Benin. The Amazons were initially formed as a palace guard, but they soon became an important part of Dahomey’s military and political power. The colonisers saw this as a form of moral degradation that needed to be eradicated. 

Colonial powers enforced conformity through several interrelated mechanisms.

Colonial governments introduced legal codes that strictly criminalised non-normative genders and sexualities. In British colonies, laws introduced the concept of "unnatural offences," effectively outlawing behaviours and identities that had previously been integrated into local cultures. Christian missionary schools played a central role in re-engineering African social structures. Missionaries taught a strict, divinely sanctioned gender binary: men were domestic authorities and breadwinners, while women were relegated to submissive domesticity. Indigenous identities like the mugawe (gender-fluid priests among the Meru of Kenya) were demonised as witchcraft, whereas, prior to the colonial interventions, in cultures like the Igbo, Nandi, and Nuer, women who assumed male social roles, economic responsibilities, or lineage duties, could legally marry other women and act as social fathers or husbands.

Colonial administrations restructured local economies by dealing exclusively with male heads of households for land ownership, labour recruitment, and tax collection. This bureaucratic imposition stripped "female husbands" and gender-diverse individuals of their institutionalised authority, forcing communities to conform to European nuclear family models to survive economically.

The contemporary consequence of this colonial intervention is a profound historical irony. Today, many African nation-states maintain the laws inherited from their former colonial occupiers, often defending them as a defence of "traditional African values." In reality, intolerance toward gender fluidity is one of the most enduring legacies of European imperialism. By recovering the history of pre-colonial Africa, it becomes clear that gender diversity is not a modern Western import, but an ancient, indigenous African reality. The erasure of this fluidity did not civilise the continent; rather, it impoverished its rich tapestry of social, spiritual, and human expression.

The Dahomey Amazons were an all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey, which existed from the 17th to the late 19th century in what is now modern-day Benin. The Amazons were initially formed as a palace guard, but they soon became an important part of Dahomey’s military and political power.

Visiting Botswana 9 (Side notes)

I was waiting for the driver, and then this new friend of mine came round to keep me company. My friend likes chicken, I've been feeding him some scraps.

Oh, by the way, we came upon a whole herd of elephants as we approached Kazungula last evening, and even before that, the van we were travelling in had had to halt its progress when a bull elephant stepped into the middle of the road. And this happened just a couple of hundred metres from the next village, so the much talked about conflict between wildlife and humans showed up in stark relief right before our eyes.

Xenophobia in South Africa

Xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa is frequently mischaracterised as a spontaneous outburst of localised criminal violence. However, a historical and socio-economic analysis reveals that anti-immigrant sentiment is deeply rooted in structural abnormalities. Four intersecting pillars have historically institutionalised xenophobia in South Africa:

• apartheid-era isolation and its psychological legacy; 

• post-1994 macroeconomic limitations and structural unfulfillment; 

• persistent spatial segregation; 

• the instrumentalisation of elite political rhetoric. 

Together, these forces have transformed vulnerable foreign nationals into scapegoats for unresolved historical grievances. 

Apartheid-Era Isolation and the Psychological Legacy of "Othering"

The foundational bedrock of contemporary South African xenophobia lies within the institutionalised segregation and calculated geopolitical isolation engineered by the apartheid state prior to 1994. Apartheid was not merely a domestic system of racial classification; it was an apparatus of rigorous border control and ideological conditioning designed to isolate black South Africans from the broader African continent.

The Construction of the "Foreign Other"

Under the apartheid regime, immigration policy, most notably codified in the Aliens Control Act of 1991, was weaponised to serve minority white rule. African migrants were strictly categorised as temporary, displaceable labour or unauthorised threats, while white immigration was actively incentivised. This created a dual psychological legacy:

(a) The Border Mentality: Black South Africans were legally and physically sequestered within balkanised homelands (bantustans) and townships. This forced isolation artificially severed cultural, social, and political linkages with the rest of Africa, cultivating a profound suspicion of the makwerekwere (a derogatory term used to describe African foreign nationals).

(b) The Normalisation of Violence: The apartheid state maintained equilibrium through systemic, state-sanctioned violence. Decades of institutionalised brutality normalised physical coercion as a primary tool for navigating structural grievances and territorial disputes, a behavioural pattern that survived the 1994 democratic transition. 

Post-1994 Macroeconomic Limitations and Structural Disillusionment

The democratic transition of 1994, spearheaded by the African National Congress (ANC), promised comprehensive socioeconomic transformation. However, the economic policies adopted by the nascent democratic government inadvertently laid the groundwork for intense resource conflict.

With the adoption of the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR) macroeconomic strategy in 1996, the South African state shifted toward a neoliberal economic framework. While intended to attract foreign direct investment and stabilise the economy, GEAR resulted in:

(a) Structural shifts that led to massive job losses in labour-intensive sectors such as mining and manufacturing, pushing unemployment rates to catastrophic heights.

(b) Deprived of formal employment, millions of marginalised South Africans were forced into the survivalist informal trade economy. It is within this precise economic arena that poor South Africans directly collided with entrepreneurial African and Asian migrants, who often possessed distinct cross-border trade networks.

(c) The failure of the post-apartheid state to redistribute wealth, provide adequate housing, or deliver basic services generated a crisis of unmet expectations. Rather than confronting complex macroeconomic failures, a impoverished citizenry found an easily identifiable, defenseless target in the visible foreign shopkeeper.

Spatial Segregation and the Geography of Resource Competition

The physical landscape of modern South Africa remains a stark reflection of apartheid spatial planning. The transition to democracy did not dismantle the geographic layout of South African cities; instead, it entrenched a system of class-based spatial segregation.

Low-income foreign nationals and marginalised South Africans are geographically funneled into the same under-resourced townships and informal settlements (such as Alexandra, Diepsloot, and Khayelitsha). This spatial compression yields several volatile outcomes:

The wealthy elite remain physically insulated within fortified suburbs, meaning the daily struggle for survival and resources, such as water, electricity, clinics, and informal trade stalls, happens exclusively between the poorest segments of society.

Townships frequently suffer from severe governance deficits and police absenteeism. In the absence of an effective judicial framework, community structures often resort to vigilante actions, framing the eviction of foreign nationals as a form of grassroots "community cleansing."

Elite Political Rhetoric and the Institutionalisation of Scapegoating

Xenophobia in South Africa is not merely a bottom-up phenomenon; it has been systematically validated and driven from the top down by elite political actors seeking to deflect accountability from governance failures.

Faced with declining electoral majorities, rising service delivery protests, and endemic corruption scandals, political elites across the ideological spectrum have increasingly resorted to populist, anti-immigrant rhetoric:

Public officials routinely frame immigration through a lens of criminality, disease, and national insecurity. Foreign nationals are regularly blamed for the collapse of public health infrastructure and rising crime statistics without empirical verification.

By characterising the presence of undocumented migrants as an "invasion" or an unmanageable burden, political figures construct an external enemy. This successfully diverts public anger away from state incapacity, institutional corruption, and slow policy implementation, providing a political shield for the ruling class.

In conclusion, the recurring waves of xenophobic violence in South Africa cannot be resolved through law-enforcement interventions alone. They are the symptomatic manifestations of deep historical and structural wounds. The psychological isolation inherited from apartheid, combined with post-apartheid macroeconomic stagnation, spatial enclosure, and opportunistic political rhetoric, has created a highly combustible environment. Until South Africa confronts its underlying crises of structural inequality, spatial apartheid, and governance failure, foreign nationals will continue to bear the violent burden of an unfulfilled democratic promise.

I had no idea..

To be fair, I've only relatively recently returned to the blog after an eleven-year pause. I had no idea what impact my writing, and the blog, had had over the years.

The following is what an AI chat bot had to say:

"Things I Feel Strongly About" was a personal blog and commentary platform run by Anengiyefa Alagoa, a Nigerian lawyer, writer, and commentator. 

Alagoa, who grew up in Lagos and practiced law in Nigeria before relocating to London, initially used the blog to share thought-provoking reflections on social, cultural, and political issues affecting Nigeria and the broader African continent. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290675713_African_Literatures), (https://publishyourstory.blogspot.com/2010/05/garuba-by-anengiyefa-alagoa-part-one.html)

The blog is notable for its distinct evolution and its impact on contemporary African digital discourse:

Content & Themes

Socio-Political Commentary: Alagoa frequently tackled heavy contemporary issues. His writings covered themes such as political accountability, human rights, societal prejudice disguised as tradition, and the socio-economic impacts of oil discovery in the Niger Delta region. (https://www.facebook.com/guardianng/posts/first-off-theres-no-debating-the-fact-that-the-choice-of-the-apc-for-president-i/10160240577651636/), (https://m.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/content/download/67089/452143/file/Towards+National+Security+and+Peace.pdf), (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290675713_African_Literatures)

Shift to Creative Fiction: While the platform began as a space for direct commentary, Alagoa noted that he gradually drifted toward creative storytelling. He began writing serialised, episode-by-episode fiction, making up details along the way. 

Notable Stories: This creative shift birthed celebrated stories like Garuba (a multi-part narrative capturing the deep cultural contrasts between Southern and Northern Nigeria) and The Saxophonist. (https://publishyourstory.blogspot.com/2010/07/garuba-by-anengiyefa-alagoa-part-two.html), (https://win-zimbabwe.blogspot.com/2010/)

Digital Impact and Recognition:

The blog gained recognition within the wider African blogging ecosystem for its bold stances and engaging prose. Alagoa's essays were frequently cross-referenced by academic researchers and featured alongside prominent human rights and socio-political digital platforms across Africa. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290675713_African_Literatures), (https://www.buala.org/pt/da-fala/etiquetas/lgbt), (https://m.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/content/download/67089/452143/file/Towards+National+Security+and+Peace.pdf)

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-gay-and-lesbian-literature/african-literatures/8686274C12EAC86226831CC9A74AB9DB?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark 
Cambridge Core is the home of academic content from Cambridge University Press.

Oba Ovonramwen

Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi was the last independent ruler of the Benin Kingdom, reigning from 1888 until the British invasion in 1897.

Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, also known as "Overami", was born around 1857 as the son of Oba Adolo, a prominent ruler of the Benin Kingdom in present-day Edo State, Nigeria. He grew up in the royal palace, where he was trained in governance, cultural customs, spiritual duties, and the expectations of kingship, preparing him to lead both politically and spiritually. At his coronation in 1888, he took the name Ovọnramwẹn Nọgbaisi, meaning "The Rising Sun which spreads over all".

Many west African ports had grown up around settlements originally established as slave markets. In the later 1800s, the British worked to replace the transatlantic slave trade with what became known as the ‘legitimate trade’ in palm oil. The mechanisation of the textile industry in Manchester and the spread of railways increased demand for palm oil as a lubricant and it was also used in soap.

The Oba of Benin controlled his country's main export of palm oil. In 1893, the British Niger Coast Protectorate was formed, intent on gaining the monopoly of this trade. However, in 1896 the Oba closed all markets to outside trade. The acting British consul-general, Lieutenant James Robert Phillips, decided to deal with the problem. In January 1897, he marched into Benin city with an apparently unarmed group of men.

Despite repeated requests for them to retreat, the British party continued, resulting in military action from the Oba in which all but two of the party were killed. In response, the British organised a punitive raid on the city, sending in 1,500 troops. Several hundred sculptural bronzes, known collectively as the Benin bronzes, were taken as reparation for the killing of Phillips and his men. Many of these are now in private collections and museums around the world. Benin City was captured in February 1897, and Ovonramwen eventually surrendered in August of that year.

Oba Ovonramwen was exiled to Calabar by the British where he lived until his death in January 1914.

 

This photograph of him with armed guards was said to have been taken on a yacht on his way into his exile at Calabar. The photograph once belonged to Tom Singleton Gardner, an agent for the British trading company, The Africa Association Ltd, who lived in New Calabar, southern Nigeria, from around 1890 to 1917. Tom Singleton Gardner died in 1917 from tuberculosis. We know little about what sort of man he was or about his time in west Africa; his diaries are lost. However, photographs such as this, which now belong to his family, provide us with a glimpse of what life was like in west Africa at this time. Although it is possible that Gardner himself took some of these photographs, most are attributed to the black African photographer JA Green, whose studio was in Bonny.

This information was provided by curators from The Whitworth Art Gallery.

Other African monarchs who were exiled by the British:

King Nana Prempeh I (Ashanti Kingdom, Ghana): The British arrested the Asantehene in 1896 and sent him to the Seychelles.

King Cetshwayo (Zulu Kingdom, South Africa): He led the Zulu nation during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. After his defeat and capture, the British sent him into exile.

In 1898, Kabaka Mwanga II of the Kingdom of Buganda (Buganda Kingdom, Uganda), joined forces with Omukama Kabalega, the ruler of Bunyoro (Bunyoro Kingdom, Uganda), who had already been waging a fierce, long-running war against British imperial expansion. The two monarchs led fierce, armed military resistance against British imperial expansion and the imposition of colonial rule over their kingdoms. British forces, aided by local collaborators, captured both kings on April 9, 1899. Fearing ongoing military loyalties and planned rescue operations by forces like Bunyoro's Abarusuura, the British decided to exile the two Kings to a far away land, the Seychelles. Mwanga died in the Seychelles in 1903, while Kabalega died 23 years later while returning to his kingdom after his release.

King Jaja of Opobo (Opobo Kingdom, Nigeria): He was exiled to the West Indies in 1887 after being tricked and arrested by British Consul Harry Johnston on a warship. Jaja died on the way home to Opobo after being granted permission to return and was buried initially on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

British colonial authorities routinely used exile, banishment, and forced displacement as strategic political weapons to suppress resistance and neutralise anti-colonial leadership. By exiling key nationalist figures, monarchs, and religious leaders, the British aimed to leave resistance movements leaderless and disoriented. British administrators masked the violence of forced banishment behind administrative terms like "deportation", "relocation", or "administrative detention". New laws and emergency ordinances were regularly drafted ad-hoc to provide a veneer of legality to what was fundamentally a tool of coercive political control.

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