The Nubians of Kenya and the emancipatory potential of collective recognition

The Nubians in Kenya, a community who have in the past been considered stateless, have recently begun to emerge from their marginal status in the country. Over the past two years, as individuals Nubians have had improved access to ID cards and as a group they received a code in the 2009 census. However these political gains are only part of a greater struggle on the part of the community to be fully recognized as a tribe of Kenya. Identity politics and claims for recognition dominate social politics in many African countries, however the normative underpinnings of these complex and often challenging claims are yet to be fully explored in the African context. Drawing on seven months of qualitative fieldwork, this article explores the emancipatory potential of collective recognition. By articulating a positive vision of the moral and political value of ethnic community, the article makes a critical contribution to theory of the politics of recognition in the African context.