miles-militis Posted May 6, 2004 In a country where ethnicity is a major factor in senior public service appointments, the choice of Brig Muhammed Hussein Ali as Police Commissioner was of particular interest. It brought to the fore the existence of what can only be termed a minority of minorities. They had been recruited from Kismayu, then part of the British Somaliland Protectorate. After retirement, or discharge from military service, they remained in Kenya, many taking up employment in safari camps as gun bearers and trackers for so-called White Hunters. The Armed Forces, however, remains their favourite occupation. Brig Ali, whose father and grandfather were soldiers, himself abandoned studies at Form 5 in Nyeri High School to enlist in the military. However, their numbers and status had always bothered the colonial authorities, who at one time considered trucking them back to Northern Somalia (present day Puntland). The plan was abandoned due to the huge costs of repatriation and resettlement. It was also considered that it would be greatly unfair to just move them from Kenya against their will after their sterling service in two world wars. In colonial Kenya where racial classifications were standard, where to place them also became an issue. Broad classifications placed Europeans at the top of the social order, followed by Asians and Arabs, with indigenous Africans, referred to as natives, at the bottom of the pile. The Somali of the North Eastern Province and the Swahili of the coast, both claiming kinship to the Arabs, were placed in a special category, just a notch above the Africans. read it here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
