| dc.description.abstract | The history of the Kenya Police Force can be traced to the year 1887 when the British East African Company started its operation in Kenya. The Company initially employed armed guards to secure trade route from Mombasa to Uganda but with construction of the railway, attempts were made to establish a Police Force to maintain law and order in the railway stations and the entire Kenya Colony. South Nyanza District was one of the areas where a Police Force was stationed considering its location along the boundary with Tanganyika which was a German colony. The area was therefore facing increasing threat of German colonization through Karl Peters initiatives. Furthermore, South Nyanza District was characterized by many security challenges like incidences of resistance to colonial, intra and inter-border cattle thefts, emergence of a politico-religious sect (Mumboism) and the presence of the Kikuyu immigrants in the region during the Mau Mau rebellion. In spite of these developments, there had been no attempt to study the history of Kenya Police Force in South Nyanza District during the colonial period. This study therefore purposed to examine the emergence and transformation of police force in South Nyanza District during the colonial period guided by three objectives: to trace the establishment of the Police Force in South Nyanza District up to the end of First World War (1887-1918); to investigate the role of the Kenya Police Force in South Nyanza District during the inter-war period (1919- 1939); and to analyze the transformation of the Kenya Police Force in South Nyanza District during the Second World War (1940-1963). Colonial State theory was employed to guide this study. The colonial state was the chief instrument for the creation and sustenance of colonialism in South Nyanza District.The theory explains the instruments of power used by the colonial authority to pacify and maintain law and order in the colony and the role of the police force in these processes. The study used historical research design. The target population of the study consisted of residents of South Nyanza District during the colonial period. A sample size of fifty-four respondents were reached and interviewed. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were applied respectively to identify respondents with knowledge and experience on the subject under study. Former employees of the Police Force as well as those who had knowledge about the subject under study were interviewed. Secondary and primary data were used to collect information for the study. Primary data were obtained from interviews using an interview schedule with open-ended questions. Archival data on records and reports concerning the police in Kenya and South Nyanza District were obtained from Kenya National Archives cross-checked for validity with secondary and primary data from interviews. Secondary data was obtained from written documents like books, newspapers, unpublished theses, dissertations and electronically stored information from the internet. Data was analyzed using thematic and document analysis. Data collected from both primary and secondary sources was corroborated and presented thematically in conformity with the stated objectives of the study. The study is vital since it illuminates the instrumental functions of the police force in Kenya during the colonial period, transformation of the force and how it impacted on local communities like South Nyanza District. It also demonstrates the role played by the Kenya Police in managing transition from colonialism to independence in the era of decolonization with respect to local communities in Kenya. | en_US |