Eliott Dreux. “Clôture invisible : analyse spatiale des conflits homme-lion dans les plaines d’Athi-Kaputiei” Mambo! N° 114, 2026. Résumé Dans les plaines d’Athi-Kaputiei, au sud de Nairobi, des communautés d’éleveurs et d’agriculteurs vivent à...
Eliott Dreux. “Invisible Fence: Spatial Analysis of Human-lion Conflicts in the Plains of Athi-Kaputiei” Mambo! No. 114, 2026. Abstract In the Athi-Kaputiei plains south of Nairobi, pastoralist and farming communities live on the immediate...
Hillary BOBO, Mambo!, no. 113, 2026.
The central research question of the study was to examine the intersection between generative AI (Artificial Intelligence), youth-led movements, social media disinformation, and societal polarisation during the 2024 Gen Z protests through a mixed-method paradigm, focusing on social media content analysis, key informant interviews, and an online survey. The 2024 and 2025 Gen Z protests in Kenya were interpreted as spontaneous and amorphous digital unrest, mainly propelled by disinformation, making the protests seen as a security threat while overlooking the unfavourable socio-economic and political conditions that made the protests resonant with the young people. The protests had been sparked by government-proposed tax measures that the Kenyan populace, in particular the Gen Z found punitive. Artificial Intelligence, especially generative AI was used to produce and disseminate a significant amount of the content created at unprecedented scale and speed, that transformed digital activism. However, it also brought the dark side of using artificial intelligence in creating deepfakes and manipulated visuals, leading to widespread social media disinformation by both protesters and pro-government actors. Findings from the survey projected that 52.2 % of the survey respondents, with a majority being young people at 79.4%, agreed that AI-generated content had a significant influence in shaping public perception negatively. Findings also revealed that information exchanges happened mainly through TikTok at 36%, and X at 21%, while 27% used more than two social media platforms to consume AI-generated messages. These revelations show the close intersection between generative AI, youth-led movements, social media disinformation, and societal polarisation.
Mercy CHEPKIRUI LAGAT, Mambo!, no. 112, 2026.
International and national protection frameworks guarantee refugees the right to access to justice. However, the urbanization of forced displacement in Kenya has reconfigured this refugee protection regime. Unlike the traditional and humanitarian justice systems established in camps, refugees residing in urban areas rely on domestic judicial systems. This shift creates a state of dual vulnerability where their legal status overlap with the structural marginality of informal urban settlements. By focusing on the viewpoint’s legal experts’, this study demonstrates that there is a systemic disconnect between recognised rights and the administration and access to justice in practice. Institutional exclusions, bureaucratic red tapes, and fragmented law enforcement have turned the pursuit of legal redress into a contested process. Access to justice is thus shaped more by professional discretion and spatial inequalities than by formal constitutional guarantees.
Eric MAGALE, Mambo!, vol. XXII (2), 2025.
The Busia and Malaba border points between Kenya and Uganda are not only a melting point of cultures and nationalities; it is also the hub of significant informal commercial activity. Money therefore plays a critical role in facilitating exchange. Within this understanding, mobile money stands out as an important medium of exchange and money changing, a critical means of exchanging value. This article describes the social embeddedness of the trading community at the border points and the distinctive role that mobile money and money changing practices plays in this regard.
Fathima Azmiya BADURDEEN. Mambo ! vol. XXII (1), 2025. Building trust is essential when conducting fieldwork on sensitive topics such as violent extremism. This article examines what is at stake in trust-building processes, as shared values and ethical conduct are at play during fieldwork especially when seeking to co-create knowledge on violent extremism.
Joseph BOHBOT, Mambo!, Vol. XX (1), 2023. Dans l’Ouest du Kenya, des milliers d’individus se sont lancés dans le travail de l’or. Cette activité, qui connaît un renouveau depuis les années 1990, se développe à l’ombre des ruines des anciennes mines ouvertes durant la période coloniale britannique. L’orpaillage, pluriel dans ses formes et dans ses pratiques, apparaît alors comme une nouvelle source de revenus pour la population du comté, bien que ces activités aient des impacts environnementaux importants.
Nathan KARIUKI. Mambo! Vol. XIX (4), 2022. Street vending plays a crucial role in the urban economy in most countries, especially in the Global South. This paper focuses on street vendors associations in Thika town in Kenya. The article asks whether street vendors associations play a role of economic and political empowerment and which role exactly.
Margaret K. THANG’WA. Mambo! Vol. XIX (1), 2022. En 2020, toutes les institutions d’éducation kényanes, y compris les universités, ont été sommées de fermer sine die pour endiguer les effets de la pandémie de COVID-19. Cet article vise à identifier les modes d’atténuation qui ont été utilisés pour gérer la nouvelle normalité éducative liée à la pandémie dans l’enseignement et l’apprentissage du français dans les universités publiques du Kenya.
David NGIRA & John HARRINGTON. Mambo! Vol. XVIII (5), 2021. The politics of access to vaccines against COVID-19 has been discussed in terms of vaccine nationalism and imperialism. However, the implication of the pandemic on the ability of African states to act internally and externally to protect the health of their citizens has been obscured. Here, we share research findings which address that question with a particular focus on Kenya.
Teddy DELAUNAY. Mambol Vol. XVIII (4), 2021. On-demand Ride-Hailing services (RHs) now play an increasing role within many cities around the world. RHs might increase traffic congestion, vehicle ownership and access inequalities. RHs pose significant challenges for policymakers, and addressing these issues requires detailed information about RHs use. This paper provides insights into who the users of RHs are, and their motivations for using RHs.
Noé MICHALON. Mambo! Vol. XVIII (2), 2021. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kenyan government developed a national narrative aimed to empower its population and give it the responsibilities the public authorities could not fully handle. Being a Kenyan, officials said, was about being resilient and innovative. This ideal-type of the resilient and responsible Kenyan was story-told broadly through an assertive media strategy that President Uhuru Kenyatta and other influential political figures put forward.
Sara van der HOEVEN. Mambo! Vol. XVIII (1), 2021. By mapping the circulation of firearms in northern Kenya, this paper aims to show the different ways armed conservation practices are more than a means to protect wildlife. Conservation is a means to achieve “peace and security,” too. Rangers fill the law enforcement vacuum that the government leaves open. Even though guns are but one element in conservation politics, following their circulation allows me to bring these different places and times into one analytical lens.
Patrick MUTAHI & Kate Jane WANJIRU. Mambo! Vol. XVII (6), 2020. This paper analyses how state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic shaped security and policing of residents living in Mathare informal settlements. Relatedly, it focuses on how these residents, facing a repressive police force, mobilised and coordinated responses that protected lives and livelihoods.
Fathima AZMIYA BADURDEEN. Mambo! Vol. XVII (4), 2020. Based on a qualitative methodology, this sociopolitical analysis looks into how national and county decision-making unfolded in Mombasa County, Kenya, during the COVID-19 epidemic. The article discusses the evidence-based decision-making and leadership on COVID-19 mitigating responses within a reactive, proactive and populist approach.
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