Archives and records management in Kenya: problems and prospects
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09565690310485315 |
| Published date | 01 August 2003 |
| Date | 01 August 2003 |
| Pages | 91-101 |
| Author | Nathan Mnjama |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Archives and records
management in Kenya:
problems and prospects
Nathan Mnjama
Early history of Kenya National Archives
The Kenya National Archives and
Documentation Services was first established
by an Act of Parliament in 1965. Prior to that
date colonial administration had operated a
small archives repository in Nairobi.
Musembi (1982a) argues that the failure to
evolve an effective archives service in the
country can be attributed to lack of interest by
colonial administrators. Nathan Fedha, the
first African archivist, who succeeded Derek
Charman in 1964 as Chief Archivist in
Kenya, continued in Charman's footsteps and
nothing major happened except the collection
of district and provincial records. Fedha was
replaced by Dr Maina Kagombe in 1974.
During Kagombe's period, the Kenya
National Archives underwent a period of
uncontrolled growth, and its responsibilities
came to include a wide range of
non-archival functions (Walford, 1982a, p. 1).
Ian Maclean, an Australian records
management expert who spent six months in
Kenya as a Unesco consultant in 1978, was:
... astonished at the number and range of
objectives and programmes postulated by the
Chief Archivist for the Kenya National Archives
(Maclean, 1978, p. 4).
He noted that, apart from conventionally
accepted public archives and records
management functions, the Chief Archivist
had envisaged programmes for the retrieval of
migrated archives, collection of oral
traditions, the preservation of the freedom
tree, establishment of a documentation
centre, a programme for the preservation
of sites and monuments and the
establishment of audio-visual archives. He
observed that:
...the only caveat to be made is that the original
and essential but less publicity-catching activities
in the records and archives management field
must not be starved of their necessary share of
resources of space, finance and management
support (Maclean, 1978, p. 4).
Maclean came to the conclusion that no
records management programme would
succeed in Kenya without proper emphasis
being placed on the responsibilities of the
various arms and offices of government
(Maclean, 1978, p. 2).
Maclean's fears proved correct. As a result
of the proliferation of these non-archival and
The author
Nathan Mnjama is a Senior Lecturer at the University of
Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
Keywords
Archives, Records management, Kenya
Abstract
The Kenya National Archives and Documentation Services
is seen as a success story by many other African archival
institutions. The Department has made major strides in
developing records services, opening five regional centres
and partially automating most of its finding aids.
However, as this article indicates, major aspects of
managing public sector records remain chaotic and
regulations governing the management and disposal of
public records are flouted by many Civil Servants. The
article concludes by suggesting that the time has now
come for the National Archives to focus on the
management of the entire life cycle of records rather than
managing only the archival preservation stage.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
91
Records Management Journal
Volume 13 .Number 2 .2003 .pp. 91-101
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/09565690310485315
To continue reading
Request your trial