significant is that one tragic death resulted in three additional deaths and
affliction to three additional families.
Under colonialism, the murderer and all associated clan members suffered
from death and removal, instead of just the family of the victim. However, from
the African perspective, this punishment did not align philosophically with their
belief in stabilizing the society that was once highly valued. Furthermore, the act
of executing and hanging criminals was traditionally viewed as being under the
power of God (MuIungu) and was only applied in very extreme circumstances. A
society once rooted in reconciliation and peace as the keys to mending
relationships from offenses, did not understand the loss of additional lives and
additional family suffering. For many Africans, offenses that threatened the entire
community were the most serious.32 As mentioned earlier, traditional emphasis
was placed on payment to the suffering family and ceremonies to purify and
cleanse the activity to allow both clans to move forward in peace, but these
cultural practices and beliefs were not laws under colonialism and not values of
the colonial administration.
Colonial Justice Related to Property
Theft under British law was viewed as criminal behavior. The offense
during colonialism was subject to some form of removal of the offender from
society or punishment depending upon the specific conditions and magnitude of
the theft. On April 7, 1954, several “Africans” as described in the Machakos
District report, broke into the duka (store) on dawa Plantations and stole money
32 Kivuto Ndeti, Elements of Akamba Life, (Nairobi: East Africa Pub. House, 1972), 105.
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