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118-503: Central Province was the ancestral home of the Gikuyu people . The climate of Central Province is generally cooler than that of the rest of Kenya, due to the region's higher altitude. Rainfall is fairly reliable, falling in two seasons, one from early March to May (the long rains) and a second during October and November (the short rains). Central Province is a key producer of coffee, one of Kenya's key exports. Much of Kenya's dairy industry

236-527: A Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya . At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya , making them Kenya's largest ethnic group. Modern ethnicities Diaspora Performing arts Government agencies Television Radio Newspapers The term Kikuyu is the Swahili borrowing of the autonym Gĩkũyũ ( Gikuyu pronunciation: [ɣèkòjóꜜ] ) The Kikuyu belong to

354-498: A fig tree (Mũgumo) would be used. The olive tree (Mũtamaiyũ) was a sacred tree for women. Ngai or Mwene-Nyaga is the Supreme Creator and giver of all things. He created the first Gĩkũyũ communities, and provided them with all the resources necessary for life: land, rain, plants, and animals. Ngai cannot be seen but is manifested in the sun, moon, stars, comets and meteors, thunder and lightning, rain, rainbows, and in

472-464: A sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge -ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment , a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime . Laws may specify the range of penalties that can be imposed for various offenses, and sentencing guidelines sometimes regulate what punishment within those ranges can be imposed given

590-484: A bit offset. Ndia and Gachũgũ are extremely far from Metumi. Gaki on the other hand, as far as my geographical understanding of Gĩkũyũ land is concerned should be much closer to Metumi, yet virtually no names of regiment sets are shared. It should however be noted that Gaki had a strong connection to the Maasai living nearby. The ruling generation names of Maina and Mwangi are also very popular male Gĩkũyũ names. The theory

708-579: A certain set of offense and offender characteristics. The most common purposes of sentencing in legal theory are: In civil cases the decision is usually known as a verdict , or judgment, rather than a sentence. Civil cases are settled primarily by means of monetary compensation for harm done (" damages ") and orders intended to prevent future harm (for example injunctions ). Under some legal systems an award of damages involves some scope for retribution, denunciation and deterrence, by means of additional categories of damages beyond simple compensation, covering

826-424: A city in his philosophy, which he describes through the metaphor of a chariot: it functions effectively when the charioteer, representative of reason, successfully controls the two horses, symbolizing spirit and desire. Continuing on these themes, Plato theorizes that those who love wisdom, or philosophers , are the most ideal to govern because only they truly comprehend the nature of the good. Just like one would seek

944-607: A colony in the region, noting the abundant and fertile farmland. Although initially non-hostile, relationships between the Agikuyu and the Europeans soon turned violent: Waiyaki Wa Hinga , a leader of the southern Agikuyu, who ruled Dagoretti who had signed a treaty with Frederick Lugard of the British East Africa Company (BEAC) burned down Lugard's fort in 1890. Waiyaki was captured two years later by

1062-543: A consequence, there are notable Kikuyu literature icons such as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Meja Mwangi . Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's literary works include Caitani Mutharabaini (1981), Matigari (1986) and Murogi wa Kagogo ( Wizard of the Crow (2006)) which is the largest known Kikuyu language novel having been translated into more than thirty languages. Traditional Kikuyu music has existed for generations up to 1888, when colonialism disrupted their life. Before 1888 and well into

1180-415: A disagreement (or trial in some cases). According to utilitarian thinkers including John Stuart Mill , justice is not as fundamental as we often think. Rather, it is derived from the more basic standard of rightness, consequentialism : what is right is what has the best consequences (usually measured by the total or average welfare caused). So, the proper principles of justice are those that tend to have

1298-411: A doctor's expertise in matters of health rather than a farmer's, so should the city entrust its governance to someone knowledgeable about the good, rather than to politicians who might prioritize power over people's genuine needs. Socrates later used the parable of the ship to illustrate this point: the unjust city is like a ship in open ocean, crewed by a powerful but drunken captain (the common people),

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1416-461: A group of untrustworthy advisors who try to manipulate the captain into giving them power over the ship's course (the politicians), and a navigator (the philosopher), the latter of whom being the only one who knows how to get the ship to port. Advocates of divine command theory say justice, and indeed the whole of morality, is the authoritative command of God. Murder is wrong and must be punished, for instance, because God says it so. Some versions of

1534-460: A mwanake na a muirĩĩtu. Freely translated it means "In those days the male children were given the names of the riika (initiation set) like Watene, Cuma, Iregi, or Ciira. Girls were on the other hand named after the clans that were named earlier until such a time as it was decided to name the children after the parents of the man and the woman." From this statement it is not clear whether the girls were named ad hoc after any clan, no matter what clan

1652-482: A recognised leader, others did not. However, in either case, real political power was exercised by the ruling council of elders for each clan. Each clan then forwarded the leader of its council to the apex council of elders for the whole community. The overall council of elders representing all the clans was then led by a headman or the nation's spokesman. The Gĩkũyũ were – and still are – monotheists believing in an omnipotent Creator whom they refer to as Ngai . All of

1770-558: A significant secondary role. Theories of distributive justice need to answer three questions: Distributive justice theorists generally do not answer questions of who has the right to enforce a particular favored distribution, while property rights theorists say that there is no "favored distribution". Rather, distribution should be based simply on whatever distribution results from lawful interactions or transactions (that is, transactions which are not illicit). In Anarchy, State, and Utopia , Robert Nozick said that distributive justice

1888-469: A single global community with a shared morality. Social justice is also distinct from egalitarianism , which is the idea that all people are equal in terms of status, value, or rights, as social justice theories do not all require equality. For example, sociologist George C. Homans suggested that the root of the concept of justice is that each person should receive rewards that are proportional to their contributions. Economist Friedrich Hayek said that

2006-541: A view of negative liberty, in the form of freedom from governmental interference. He further extends the concept of negative liberty in endorsing John Stuart Mills' harm principle: "the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually and collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection", which represents a classical liberal view of liberty. In political theory, liberalism includes two traditional elements: liberty and equality. Most contemporary theories of justice emphasize

2124-465: Is a form of fairness: an impartial distribution of goods. Rawls asks us to imagine ourselves behind a veil of ignorance that denies us all knowledge of our personalities, social statuses, moral characters, wealth, talents and life plans, and then asks what theory of justice we would choose to govern our society when the veil is lifted, if we wanted to do the best that we could for ourselves. We do not know who in particular we are, and therefore can not bias

2242-641: Is also based in this province. The provincial headquarters were in Nyeri . Central Province was divided into seven districts ( wilaya'at ) until 2007: Several new districts (declared sub-counties in 2013) were created in 2007: The province is inhabited by the Kikuyu speaking community almost exclusively. They are part of the Kenya Eastern Bantus. During Kenya's colonization by the British, much of

2360-456: Is also that Waciira is also derived from ciira (case), which is also a very popular masculine name among the Agĩkũyũ. This would call into question, when it was exactly that children started being named after the parents of one's parents. Had that system, of naming one's children after one's parents been there from the beginning, there would be very few male names in circulation. This is however not

2478-726: Is also the most systematically defined list so far. Most of the most popular male names in Gĩkũyũ land were names of riikas (initiation sets). Here is Mũriũki's list of the names of regiment sets in Metumi (Mũrang'a): Kiariĩ (1665–1673), Cege (1678–1678), Kamau (1704–1712), Kĩmani (1717–1725), Karanja (1730–1738), Kĩnũthia (1743–1751), Njũgũna (1756–1764), Kĩnyanjui (1769–1777), Ng'ang'a (1781–1789), Njoroge (1794–1802), Wainaina (1807–1815), Kang'ethe (1820–1828), Mbũgua (1859–1867), Njenga or Mbĩra Itimũ (1872–1880), Mũtũng'ũ or Mbũrũ (1885–1893). H.E. Lambert, who dealt with

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2596-702: Is considered by some the gravest crisis of Britain's African colonies The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau Uprising , and essentially ended the military campaign although the state of emergency would last until 1959. The conflict arguably set the stage for Kenyan independence in December 1963. Since the proclamation of the Republic of Kenya , after colonial rule in Kenya came to an end in 1963,

2714-542: Is deductively valid to say that the existence of an objective morality implies the existence of God and vice versa. Jews , Christians , and Muslims traditionally believe that justice is a present, real, right, and, specifically, governing concept along with mercy , and that justice is ultimately derived from and held by God . According to the Bible , such institutions as the Mosaic Law were created by God to require

2832-404: Is fair based on what goods are to be distributed, between whom they are to be distributed, and what is the proper distribution. Egalitarians suggest justice can only exist within the coordinates of equality. Theories of retributive justice say justice is served by punishing wrongdoers, whereas restorative justice (also sometimes called "reparative justice") is an approach to justice that focuses on

2950-496: Is interpreted to be the movement of Ngai and lightning is the weapon used by Ngai to clear the way when moving from one sacred place to another. Some people believe that Ngai's abode is on Mount Kenya. In one legend Ngai made the mountain his resting place while on an inspection tour of earth . Ngai then took the first man, Gikuyu, to the top to point out the beauty of the land he was giving him. The cardinal points in this Traditional Gĩkũyũ Religion Philosophy were squarely based on

3068-471: Is just, and what anyone else does or does not have or need is irrelevant. On the basis of this theory of distributive justice, Nozick said that all attempts to redistribute goods according to an ideal pattern, without the consent of their owners, are theft. In particular, redistributive taxation is theft. Some property rights theorists (such as Nozick) also take a consequentialist view of distributive justice and say that property rights based justice also has

3186-443: Is not a matter of the whole distribution matching an ideal pattern , but of each individual entitlement having the right kind of history . It is just that a person has some good (especially, some property right ) if and only if they came to have it by a history made up entirely of events of two kinds: If the chain of events leading up to the person having something meets this criterion, they are entitled to it: that they possess it

3304-399: Is proportionate to their contribution. They are in the right place, always striving to do their best, and reciprocating what they receive in a fair and equitable manner. This applies both at the individual level and at the organizational and societal levels. To illustrate these ideas, Plato describes a person as having three parts: reason, spirit, and desire. These parallel the three parts of

3422-455: Is the concept of cardinal virtues , of which it is one. Metaphysical justice has often been associated with concepts of fate , reincarnation or Divine Providence , i.e., with a life in accordance with a cosmic plan. The equivalence of justice and fairness has been historically and culturally established. In his A Theory of Justice , John Rawls used a social contract argument to show that justice, and especially distributive justice,

3540-614: Is the concept that individuals are to be treated in a manner that is equitable and fair. A society in which justice has been achieved would be one in which individuals receive what they "deserve". The interpretation of what "deserve" means draws on a variety of fields and philosophical branches including ethics , rationality , law , religion , equity and fairness. The state may be said to pursue justice by operating courts and enforcing their rulings. A variety of philosophical and moral theories have been advanced to inform understanding of justice. Early theories of justice were set out by

3658-488: Is the interest of the strong – merely a name for what the powerful or cunning ruler has imposed on the people. Advocates of the social contract say that justice is derived from the mutual agreement of everyone; or, in many versions, from what they would agree to under hypothetical conditions including equality and absence of bias. This account is considered further below, under ' Justice as Fairness '. The absence of bias refers to an equal ground for all people involved in

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3776-409: Is usually understood as some combination of talent and hard work. According to needs -based theories, goods, especially such basic goods as food, shelter and medical care, should be distributed to meet individuals' basic needs for them. According to contribution -based theories, goods should be distributed to match an individual's contribution to the overall social good. Social justice encompasses

3894-606: The Israelites to live by and apply God's standards of justice. The Hebrew Bible describes God as saying about the Judeo-Christian-Islamic patriarch Abraham : "No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice;...." ( Genesis 18:19, NRSV) . The Psalmist describes God as having "Righteousness and justice [as]

4012-611: The Northeastern Bantu branch. Their language is most closely related to that of the Embu and Mbeere . Geographically, they are concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Kenya . The exact place that the Northeast Bantu speakers migrated from after the initial Bantu expansion is uncertain. Some authorities suggest that the Kikuyu arrived in their present Mount Kenya area of habitation from earlier settlements further to

4130-413: The riikas extensively, has the following list of regiment sets from Gichũgũ and Ndia. (It should be remembered that this names were unlike ruling generations not uniform in Gĩkũyũ land. It should also be noted that Ndia and Gachũgũ followed a system where initiation took place every annually for four years and then a period of nine calendar years followed where no initiation of boys took place. This period

4248-415: The 13th century. Before the establishment of East Africa Protectorate in 1895, the Agĩkũyũ preserved geographic and political power from almost all external influence for many generations; they had never been subdued. Before the arrival of the British, Arabs involved in slave trading and their caravans passed at the southern edges of the Agĩkũyũ nation. Slavery as an institution did not exist amongst

4366-512: The 1920s, Kikuyu music included Kibaata, Nduumo and Muthunguci. Cultural loss increased as urbanization and modernization impacted on indigenous knowledge, including the ability to play the mũtũrĩrũ – an oblique bark flute. Today, music and dance are strong components of Kikuyu culture. There is a vigorous Kikuyu recording industry, for both secular and gospel music, in their pentatonic scale and western music styles such as "Mathwiti Maigi Ngai!". Justice Justice , in its broadest sense,

4484-524: The Agikuyu now form an integral part of the Kenyan nation. They continue to play their part as citizens of Kenya, helping to build their country. However, some Kenyans resent their incorrectly perceived superior economic status and political power and unity, a resentment sometimes vented through political violence, as happened in 1992, 1997 and 2007 Kenyan elections. According to a Y-Chromosome DNA study by Wood et al. (2005), around 73% of Gĩkũyũs belong to

4602-616: The Agikuyu often resulted in defeat for the latter, thanks to their inferior weaponry. The Agikuyu, having been unsuccessful in their conflicts with the European settlers and the colonial government, turned to political means as a method of resolving their grievances. Kenya served as a base for the British in the First World War as part of their effort to capture the German colonies to the south, which were initially frustrated. At

4720-450: The Agĩkũyũ were involved in small scale industries with professions such as bridge building, string making, wire drawing, and iron chain making. The Agĩkũyũ had a great sense of justice ( kĩhooto ). The Agĩkũyũ nation was divided into nine clans. Each clan traced its lineage to a single female ancestor and a daughter of Mumbi . The clans were not restricted to any particular geographical area, they lived side by side. Some clans had

4838-447: The Agĩkũyũ, nor did they make raids for the capture of slaves. The Arabs who tried to venture into Agĩkũyũ land met instant death. Relying on a combination of land purchases, blood-brotherhood (partnerships), intermarriage with other people, and their adoption and absorption, the Agĩkũyũ were in a constant state of territorial expansion. Economically, the Agĩkũyũ were great farmers and shrewd businesspeople. Besides farming and business,

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4956-631: The Ancient Greek philosophers Plato , in his work The Republic , and Aristotle , in his Nicomachean Ethics and Politics . Religious explanations of justice can be grouped under the divine command theory , which holds that justice issues from God. Western thinkers later advanced different theories about where the foundations of justice lie. In the 17th century, philosophers such as John Locke said justice derives from natural law . Social contract theory, advocated by thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau , says that justice derives from

5074-761: The Gĩkũyũ nation, so, for example, were the occurrence of smallpox and syphilis recorded. Girls' initiation sets were also accorded special names, although there has been little research in this area. Mũriũki only unearths three sets, whose names are, Rũharo [1894], Kibiri/Ndũrĩrĩ [1895], Kagica [1896], Ndutu/Nuthi [1897]. All these names are taken from Metumi (Mũrang'a) and Kabete Kĩambu . Mathew Njoroge Kabetũ's list reads, Tene , Kĩyĩ , Aagu , Ciĩra , Mathathi , Ndemi , Iregi , Maina ( Ngotho ), Mwangi . Gakaara wa Wanjaũ's list reads Tene , Nema Thĩ , Kariraũ , Aagu , Tiru , Cuma , Ciira , Ndemi , Mathathi , Iregi , Maina , Mwangi , Irũngũ , Mwangi wa Mandũti . The last two generations came after 1900. One of

5192-421: The Gĩkũyũ people possessed and minimize events that led to catastrophes that would diminish the life force of the people or lead to death. The leader of the Gĩkũyũ people was the person who was thought to possess the greatest life force among the people or the person who had demonstrated the greatest life force in taking care of the people, their families, their farm produce, their cattle and their land. This person

5310-401: The Gĩkũyũ religion and life, in general, was anchored on the understanding that everything in the universe has an inner interlinked force that we do not see. God among the Gĩkũyũ people was understood hence to be the owner and distributor (Mũgai) of this inner life force in all things and He was worshiped and praised to either increase the life force of all things (farm produce, cattle, children)

5428-511: The Gĩkũyũ, Embu, and Kamba use this name. Ngai was also known as Mũrungu by the Meru and Embu tribes, or Mũlungu (a variant of a word referring to the Creator). The title Mwathani or Mwathi (the greatest ruler) comes from the word gwatha meaning to rule or reign with authority, was and is still used. All sacrifices to Ngai were performed under a sycamore tree (Mũkũyũ) and if one was not available,

5546-464: The Hair of the N'jenge , and many more. When the European missionaries arrived in the Agikuyu country in 1888, they learned the Kikuyu language and started writing it using a modified Roman alphabet. The Kikuyu responded strongly to missionaries and European education. They had greater access to education and opportunities for involvement in the new money economy and political changes in their country. As

5664-531: The Kamba people who speak a language similar to Gĩkũyũ. As a result, the Gĩkũyũ people that retain much of the original Gĩkũyũ heritage reside around Kirinyaga and Murang'a regions of Kenya. The Murang'a district is considered by many to be the cradle of the Gĩkũyũ people. Until 1888, the Agikuyu literature was purely expressed in folklore . Famous stories include The Maiden Who Was Sacrificed By Her Kin , The Lost Sister , The Four Young Warriors , The Girl who Cut

5782-471: The Kenya African Union (KAU). It was a nationalist organisation that demanded access to white-owned land. KAU acted as a constituency association for the first black member of Kenya's legislative council, Eliud Mathu , who had been nominated in 1944 by the governor after consulting with the local Bantu/Nilotic elite. The KAU remained dominated by the Kikuyu ethnic group. In 1947 Jomo Kenyatta ,

5900-418: The Kikuyu nation, most of whom had been pushed off their land by the encroaching European settlers, and lived as itinerant farmers. To protect their interests, the settlers banned the production of coffee, introduced a hut tax , and landless workers were granted less and less land in exchange for their labour. A massive exodus to the cities ensued as their ability to provide a living from the land dwindled. In

6018-708: The Niger-Kordofan cluster, 36% from Cushitic, 8% from Nilo-Saharan, 6% from Sandawe, and 1% or less from each of the other clusters According to Salas et al. (2002), other Gĩkũyũs largely carry the L1a clade, which is one of the African mtDNA Haplogroups. Gĩkũyũs speak the Gĩkũyũ language as their native tongue, which is a member of the Bantu language family . Additionally, many speak Swahili and English as lingua franca,

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6136-527: The Second World War (1939–45) Kenya became an important military base. For the Agikuyu soldiers who took part in the war as part of the King's African Rifles (KAR), the war stimulated African nationalism and shattered their conceptions of Europeans. Meanwhile, on the political front, in 1944 Thuku founded and was first chairman of the multi-ethnic Kenya African Study Union (KASU). In 1946 KASU became

6254-540: The West begins, in Plato 's Republic , with the question, 'What is Justice?' According to most contemporary theories of justice, justice is overwhelmingly important: John Rawls claims that "Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought." In classical approaches, evident from Plato through to Rawls , the concept of 'justice' is always construed in logical or 'etymological' opposition to

6372-406: The ban on female circumcision, and support for Thuku. The KCA sent Kenyatta to England in 1924 and again in 1931 to air their grievances against the colonial government and its policies. By the 1930s, approximately 30,000 white settlers lived in Agikuyu country and gained a political voice because of their contribution to the market economy . The area was already home to over a million members of

6490-418: The benefit of all earlier literature on the subject as well as doing extensive field work in the areas of Gaki (Nyeri), Metumi (Mũrang'a) and Kabete (Kĩambu). On top of the ruling generations, he also gives names of the regiments or army sets from 1659 [within a margin of error] and the names of annual initiation sets beginning 1864. The list from Metumi (Mũrang'a) is most complete and differentiated. Mũriũki's

6608-463: The best consequences overall (perhaps executing a few suspected shoplifters live on television would be an effective deterrent to shoplifting, for instance). It also suggests that punishment might turn out never to be right, depending on the facts about what actual consequences it has. According to the utilitarian, justice requires the maximization of the total or average welfare across all relevant individuals. This may require sacrifice of some for

6726-508: The best consequences. These rules may turn out to be familiar ones such as keeping contracts ; but equally, they may not, depending on the facts about real consequences. Either way, what is important is those consequences, and justice is important, if at all, only as derived from that fundamental standard. Mill tries to explain our mistaken belief that justice is overwhelmingly important by arguing that it derives from two natural human tendencies: our desire to retaliate against those who hurt us, or

6844-440: The brain and that, "Fairness is activating the same part of the brain that responds to food in rats... This is consistent with the notion that being treated fairly satisfies a basic need". Research conducted in 2003 at Emory University involving capuchin monkeys demonstrated that other cooperative animals also possess such a sense and that " inequity aversion may not be uniquely human". Instrumental theories of justice look at

6962-514: The case, as there are very many Gĩkũyũ male names. One theory is that the female names are much less, with the names of the full-nine daughters of Mũmbi being most prevalent. Gakaara wa Wanjaũ supports this view when he writes in his book, Mĩhĩrĩga ya Aagĩkũyũ , Hingo ĩyo ciana cia arũme ciatuagwo marĩĩtwa ma mariika ta Watene, Cuma, Iregi kana Ciira. Nao airĩĩtu magatuuo marĩĩtwa ma mĩhĩrĩga tauria hagwetetwo nah au kabere, o nginya hingo iria maundu maatabariirwo thuuthaini ati ciana ituagwo aciari

7080-522: The colonial government was short-lived. He was exiled to Kismayu the following year, and it was not until 1924 that the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) was formed to carry on with Thuku's campaign. From 1924, the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), with Jomo Kenyatta as its Secretary General focused on unifying the Kikuyu into one geographic polity, but its project was undermined by controversies over ritual tribute, land allocation,

7198-402: The colonial government. When disputes with white settlers and the Agikuyu became violent (usually over land issues), the settlers would employ Maasai tribesmen together with some colonial troops to carry out their fighting for them. The Maasai had historically negative relations with the Agikuyu, and thus were willing to take up arms against them. The various conflicts between the settlers and

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7316-525: The common paternal haplogroup E1b1a . The remainder carry other clades : 19% E1b1b with E-M293 contributing 11%, 2% A , and 2% B . In terms of maternal lineages, Gĩkũyũs closely cluster with other Northeast Bantu speaking groups like the Kamba . Most belong to various Africa-centered mtDNA macro-haplogroup L lineages such as L0f , L3x , L4g and L5 per Castrì et al. (2009). Kikuyu were estimated by Tishkoff et al. to have 43% ancestry from

7434-637: The company and buried alive in revenge. Following severe financial difficulties of the British East Africa Company, the British government on 1 July 1895 established direct Crown rule through the East African Protectorate , subsequently opening in 1902 the fertile highlands to European emigrants. The Agikuyu, upset at the waves of emigrants, enforced a policy of killing any of their own that collaborated with

7552-644: The concept connecting law to justice, since law cannot be applied without reference to justice. In that context, justice is seen as 'the rationale and the ethical foundation of equity'. One approach towards equity in justice is community policing . Marxism is a needs-based theory, expressed succinctly in Marx's slogan " from each according to his ability, to each according to his need ". Relational justice examines individual connections and societal relationships, focusing on normative and political aspects. Rawls' theory of justice aims to distribute social goods to benefit

7670-415: The concept of equality, including Rawls' theory of justice as fairness. For Ronald Dworkin, a complex notion of equality is the sovereign political virtue. Dworkin raises the question of whether society is under a duty of justice to help those responsible for the fact that they need help. Complications arise in distinguishing matters of choice and matters of chance, as well as justice for future generations in

7788-458: The concept of injustice. Such approaches cite various examples of injustice, as problems which a theory of justice must overcome. A number of post-World War II approaches do, however, challenge that seemingly obvious dualism between those two concepts. Justice can be thought of as distinct from benevolence , charity , prudence , mercy , generosity , or compassion , although these dimensions are regularly understood to also be interlinked. Justice

7906-404: The concept of social justice was meaningless, saying that justice is a result of individual behavior and unpredictable market forces. Social justice is closely related to the concept of relational justice, which is about the just relationship with individuals who possess features in common such as nationality, or who are engaged in cooperation or negotiation. In legal theory , equity is seen as

8024-424: The consequences of punishment for wrongdoing, looking at questions such as: In broad terms, utilitarian theories look forward to the future consequences of punishment, retributive theories look back to particular acts of wrongdoing and attempt to match them with appropriate punishment, and restorative theories look at the needs of victims and society and seek to repair the harms from wrongdoing. According to

8142-468: The decision in our own favor. So, the decision-in-ignorance models fairness, because it excludes selfish bias . Rawls said that each of us would reject the utilitarian theory of justice that we should maximize welfare (see below) because of the risk that we might turn out to be someone whose own good is sacrificed for greater benefits for others. Instead, we would endorse Rawls's two principles of justice : This imagined choice justifies these principles as

8260-427: The departed spirits of the ancestors can be reborn again in this world when children are being born, hence the rites performed during the child naming ceremonies. The Gĩkũyũ people believed the vital life force or soul of a person can be increased or diminished, thereby affecting the person's health. They also believed that some people possessed power to manipulate the inner force in all things. These people who increased

8378-508: The differences among social groups offers a better approach, one which acknowledges unjust power relations among individuals, groups, and institutional structures. Young Kim also takes a relational approach to the question of justice, but departs from Iris Marion Young's political advocacy of group rights and instead, he emphasizes the individual and moral aspects of justice. As to its moral aspects, he said that justice includes responsible actions based on rational and autonomous moral agency, with

8496-436: The earliest recorded lists by McGregor reads (list taken from a history of unchanged) Manjiri , Mandũti , Chiera , Masai , Mathathi , Ndemi , Iregi , Maina , Mwangi , Mũirũngũ . According to Hobley (a historian) each initiation generation, riika , extended over two years. The ruling generation at the arrival of the Europeans was called Maina . It is said that Maina handed over to Mwangi in 1898. Hobley asserts that

8614-434: The effect of maximizing the overall wealth of an economic system. They explain that voluntary (non-coerced) transactions always have a property called Pareto efficiency . The result is that the world is better off in an absolute sense and no one is worse off. They say that respecting property rights maximizes the number of Pareto efficient transactions in the world and minimized the number of non-Pareto efficient transactions in

8732-541: The elder daughter (Wanjirũ according to Leakey) of the original Gĩkũyũ of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi fame. After he was deposed, it was decided that the government should be democratic, which is how the Ituĩka came to be. This legend of course calls into question exactly when it was that the matrilineal rule set in. The last Ituĩka ceremony, where the riika of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898–9. The next one

8850-408: The extent that human welfare involves them. But even then, such demands as human rights would only be elements in the calculation of overall welfare, not uncrossable barriers to action. Retributive justice argues that consequentialism is wrong, as it argues that all guilty individuals deserve appropriate punishment, based on the conviction that punishment should be proportional to the crime and for all

8968-426: The feeling of self-defense and our ability to put ourselves imaginatively in another's place, sympathy. So, when we see someone harmed, we project ourselves into their situation and feel a desire to retaliate on their behalf. If this process is the source of our feelings about justice, that ought to undermine our confidence in them. It has been said that 'systematic' or 'programmatic' political and moral philosophy in

9086-732: The following sets were grouped under Maina – Kĩnũthia , Karanja , Njũgũna , Kĩnyanjui , Gathuru and Ng'ang'a . Professor Mũriũki however puts these sets much earlier, namely Karanja and Kĩnũthia belong to the Ciira ruling generation which ruled from the year 1722 to 1756, give or take 25 years, according to Mũriũki . Njũgũna , Kĩnyanjui , Ng'ang'a belong to the Mathathi ruling generation that ruled from 1757 to 1791, give or take 20 years, according to Mũriũki. Professor Mũriũki's list must be given precedence in this area as he conducted extensive research in this area starting 1969, and had

9204-505: The former president of the moderate Kikuyu Central Association, became president of the more aggressive KAU to demand a greater political voice for the native inhabitants. The failure of the KAU to attain any significant reforms or redress of grievances from the colonial authorities shifted the political initiative to younger and more militant figures within the African trade union movement, among

9322-436: The foundation of [His] throne;...." (Psalms 89:14, NRSV). The New Testament also describes God and Jesus Christ as having and displaying justice, often in comparison with God displaying and supporting mercy ( Matthew 5:7). For advocates of the theory that justice is part of natural law (e.g., John Locke ), justice inheres in the nature of man. In Republic by Plato , the character Thrasymachus argues that justice

9440-419: The general Bantu peoples thought as follows: The Gĩkũyũ held a belief in the interconnection of everything in the universe. To the Gĩkũyũ people, everything we see has an inner spiritual force and the most sacred though unspoken ontology was being is force. This spiritual vital force originated from God, who had the power to create or destroy that life force. To the Gĩkũyũ people, God was the supreme being in

9558-405: The gods because it is morally good, or is it morally good because it is commanded by the gods?" The implication is that if the latter is true, then justice is beyond mortal understanding; if the former is true, then morality exists independently from the gods, and is therefore subject to the judgment of mortals. A response , popularized in two contexts by Immanuel Kant and C. S. Lewis , is that it

9676-405: The good of others, so long as everyone's good is taken impartially into account. Utilitarianism, in general, says that the standard of justification for actions, institutions, or the whole world, is impartial welfare consequentialism , and only indirectly, if at all, to do with rights , property , need , or any other non-utilitarian criterion. These other criteria might be indirectly important, to

9794-539: The great fig trees (Mugumo). These trees served as places of worship and sacrifice and marked the spot at Mũkũrwe Wa Nyagathanga where Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi – the ancestors of the Gĩkũyũ in the oral legend – first settled. Ngai has human characteristics, and although some say that he lives in the sky or in the clouds, Gĩkũyũ lore also says that Ngai comes to earth from time to time to inspect it, bestow blessings, and mete out punishment. When he comes, Ngai rests on Mount Kenya (Kīrīnyaga) and Kilimambogo (kĩrĩma kĩa njahĩ). Thunder

9912-558: The guilty. However, it is sometimes said that retributivism is merely revenge in disguise. However, there are differences between retribution and revenge: the former is impartial and has a scale of appropriateness, whereas the latter is personal and potentially unlimited in scale. Restorative justice attempts to repair the harm that was done to the victims. It encourages active participation from victims and encourages offenders to take responsibility for their actions. Restorative justice fosters dialogue between victim and offender and shows

10030-517: The highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability. Meta-analyses of the effectivity of restorative justice show no improvement in recidivism . Some modern philosophers have said that Utilitarian and Retributive theories are not mutually exclusive. For example, Andrew von Hirsch , in his 1976 book Doing Justice , suggested that we have a moral obligation to punish greater crimes more than lesser ones. However, so long as we adhere to that constraint then utilitarian ideals would play

10148-485: The individual as the proper bearer of rights and responsibilities. Politically, he maintains that the proper context for justice is a form of liberalism with the traditional elements of liberty and equality, together with the concepts of diversity and tolerance. The phrase " Justice delayed is justice denied " refers to the problem of slow justice. The right to speedy trial is in some jurisdictions enshrined. Higher quality justice tends to be speedy. In criminal law ,

10266-406: The initiation. For example, Wainaina refers to those who shivered during circumcision. Kũinaina (to shake or to shiver). There was a very important ceremony known as Ituĩka in which the old guard would hand over the reins of government to the next generation. This was to avoid dictatorship. Kenyatta related how once, in the land of the Agĩkũyũ, there ruled a despotic King called Gĩkũyũ, grandson of

10384-408: The just relationship between individuals and their society, often considering how privileges, opportunities, and wealth ought to be distributed among individuals. Social justice is also associated with social mobility , especially the ease with which individuals and families may move between social strata . Social justice is distinct from cosmopolitanism , which is the idea that all people belong to

10502-647: The land, capturing British supplies, and remaining undefeated. He eventually surrendered in Zambia eleven days after the Armistice was signed in 1918. To chase von Lettow-Vorbeck, the British deployed Indian Army troops from India and then needed large numbers of porters to overcome the formidable logistics of transporting supplies far into the interior by foot. The Carrier Corps was formed and ultimately mobilised over 400,000 Africans, contributing to their long-term politicisation. The experiences gained by Africans in

10620-433: The law, not for equality of outcome . Classical liberalism opposes pursuing group rights at the expense of individual rights . In addition to equality, individual liberty serves as a core notion of classical liberalism. As to the liberty component, British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas Isaiah Berlin identifies positive and negative liberty in "Two Concepts of Liberty", subscribing to

10738-521: The meaning of what is "deserved". The main distinction is between theories that say the basis of just deserts ought to be held equally by everyone, and therefore derive egalitarian accounts of distributive justice – and theories that say the basis of just deserts is unequally distributed on the basis of, for instance, hard work, and therefore derive accounts of distributive justice by which some should have more than others. Studies at UCLA in 2008 have indicated that reactions to fairness are "wired" into

10856-424: The mutual agreement of members of society to be governed in a political order. In the 19th century, utilitarian philosophers such as John Stuart Mill said that justice is served by what creates the best outcomes for the greatest number of people. Modern frameworks include concepts such as distributive justice , egalitarianism , retributive justice , and restorative justice . Distributive justice considers what

10974-425: The needs of victims and offenders. Justice, according to Plato , is about balance and harmony. It represents the right relationship between conflicting aspects within an individual or a community. He defines justice as everyone having and doing what they are responsible for or what belongs to them. In other words, a just person is someone who contributes to society according to their unique abilities and receives what

11092-546: The north and east, while others argue that the Kikuyu, along with their closely related Eastern Bantu neighbours the Embu , Meru , Mbeere , and Kamba moved into Kenya from points further north. From archaeological evidence, their arrival at the northern side of Mt. Kenya dates to around the 3rd century, as part of the larger group known as Thagicu. By the 6th century, there was a community of Agikuyu newly established at Gatung'ang'a in Nyeri . The Agikuyu established themselves in their current homeland of Mt. Kenya region by

11210-403: The other hand, were initiated every year. Several regiments then make up a ruling generation. It was estimated that ruling generations lasted an average of 35 years. The names of the initiation and regiment sets vary within Gĩkũyũ land. The ruling generations are however uniform and provide very important chronological data. On top of that, the initiation sets were a way of documenting events within

11328-649: The outbreak of war in August 1914, the governors of British East Africa (as the Protectorate was generally known) and German East Africa agreed to a truce in an attempt to keep the young colonies out of direct hostilities. However, Lt. Col Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck took command of the German military forces, determined to tie down as many British resources as possible. Completely cut off from Germany , von Lettow conducted an effective guerrilla warfare campaign, living off

11446-442: The parents belonged to. Naming them after the specific clan that the parents belonged to would have severely restricted naming options. This would strangely mean that the female names are the oldest in Gĩkũyũ land, further confirming its matrilineal descent. As far as male names are concerned, there is of course the chicken and the egg question, of when a name specifically appeared but some names are tied to events that happened during

11564-445: The people who inherited life force from the first parents, then followed by the immediate dead and finally the eldest in the community. Hence when people wanted to offer sacrifices, the eldest in the community would perform the rites. Children in the community had a link to God through their parents and that chain would move upwards to parent parents, ancestors, first created parents until it reaches God Himself. The Gĩkũyũ people believed

11682-428: The poor, but does not consider power relations, political structures, or social meanings. Even Rawls' self-respect is not compatible with distribution. Iris Marion Young charges that distributive accounts of justice fail to provide an adequate way of conceptualizing political justice in that they fail to take into account many of the demands of ordinary life and that a relational view of justice grounded upon understanding

11800-536: The principles of justice for us, because we would agree to them in a fair decision procedure. Rawls's theory distinguishes two kinds of goods – (1) the good of liberty rights and (2) social and economic goods, i.e. wealth, income and power – and applies different distributions to them – equality between citizens for (1), equality unless inequality improves the position of the worst off for (2). In one sense, theories of distributive justice may assert that everyone should get what they deserve. Theories vary on

11918-536: The province was regarded as part of the ' White Highlands ', for the exclusive use of the European community. Therefore, it saw political activity from the local communities who felt that they had an ancestral right to the land. This tension culminated in the 1950s with the Mau Mau rebellion ; which saw the region placed under a state of emergency and the arrest of many prominent political leaders. Gitugi Gikuyu people The Kikuyu (also Agĩkũyũ/Gĩkũyũ ) are

12036-431: The redistribution of resources that he advocates. Law raises important and complex issues about equality, fairness, and justice. There is an old saying that ' All are equal before the law '. The belief in equality before the law is called legal egalitarianism. In criticism of this belief, the author Anatole France said in 1894, "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in

12154-635: The squatters on the settler estates in the Rift Valley and in KAU branches in Nairobi and the Kikuyu districts of central province. By 1952, under Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi , the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (Mau Mau) launched an all-out revolt against the colonial government, the settlers and their Kenyan allies. By this time, the Mau Mau were fighting for complete independence of Kenya. The war

12272-533: The start of the fifth year and going on annually for the next nine calendar years. This was the system adopted in Metumi Murang'a . The regiment or army sets also get special names, some of which seem to have ended up as popular male names. In Gaki Nyeri the system was inversed with initiation taking place annually for four calendar years, which would be followed by a period of nine calendar years in which no initiation of boys took place ( mũhingo ). Girls, on

12390-417: The streets, and steal loaves of bread." With this saying, France illustrated the fundamental shortcoming of a theory of legal equality that remains blind to social inequality; the same law applied to all may have disproportionately harmful effects on the least powerful. According to meritocratic theories, goods, especially wealth and social status , should be distributed to match individual merit , which

12508-478: The theory assert that God must be obeyed because of the nature of God's relationship with humanity, others assert that God must be obeyed because God is goodness itself, and thus doing God's command would be best for everyone. An early meditation on the divine command theory by Plato can be found in his dialogue, Euthyphro . Called the Euthyphro dilemma , it goes as follows: "Is what is morally good commanded by

12626-652: The two official languages of Kenya. The Gĩkũyũ are closely related to some Bantu communities due to intermarriages prior to colonization. These communities are the Embu, Meru, and Akamba people who also live around Mt. Kenya. Members of the Gĩkũyũ family from the greater Kiambu (commonly referred to as the Kabete) and Nyeri districts are closely related to the Maasai people also due to intermarriage prior to colonization. The Gĩkũyũ people between Thika and Mbeere are closely related to

12744-429: The universe and the giver (Mũgai/Ngai) of this life force to everything that exists. Gĩkũyũ people also believed that everything God created had a vital inner force and a connection bond to Him by the mere fact that he created that thing and gave it that inner force that makes it be and be manifested physically. To the Agĩkũyũ, God had this life force within himself hence He was the ultimate owner and ruler of everything in

12862-408: The universe. The latter was the ultimate conception of God among the Gĩkũyũ people hence the name Mũgai/Ngai. To the Gĩkũyũ people, those who possessed the greatest life force, those closest to God were the first parents created by God because God directly gave them the vital living force. These first parents were so respected to be treated almost like God himself. These were followed by the ancestors of

12980-444: The utilitarian, justice is the maximization of the total or average welfare across all relevant individuals. Utilitarianism fights crime in three ways: So, the reason for punishment is the maximization of welfare, and punishment should be of whomever, and of whatever form and severity, are needed to meet that goal. This may sometimes justify punishing the innocent, or inflicting disproportionately severe punishments, when that will have

13098-566: The war, coupled with the creation of the white-dominated Kenya Crown Colony, gave rise to considerable political activity in the 1920s which culminated in Archdeacon Owen's "Piny Owacho" (Voice of the People) movement and the "Young Kikuyu Association" (renamed the "East African Association") started in 1921 by Harry Thuku (1895–1970), which gave a sense of nationalism to many Kikuyu and advocated civil disobedience. Thuku's campaign against

13216-402: The well-being of a person spirit were called medicine-men (Mũgo) while those who diminished the person's life force were called witchdoctors (Mũrogi). They also believed that ordinary items can have their spiritual powers increased such that they protect a person against those bent on diminishing a person vital life force. Such an item with such powers was called gĩthitũ . Thus, the philosophy of

13334-425: The world (i.e. transactions where someone is made worse off). The result is that the world will have generated the greatest total benefit from the limited, scarce resources available in the world. Further, this will have been accomplished without taking anything away from anyone unlawfully. Equality before the law is one of the basic principles of classical liberalism . Classical liberalism calls for equality before

13452-447: Was given a special name. According to Professor Godfrey Mũriũki, the individual initiation sets are then grouped into a regiment every nine calendar years. Before a regiment or army was set, there was a period in which no initiation of boys took place. This period lasted a total of four and a half calendar years (nine seasons in Gĩkũyũ land, each season referred to as imera ) and is referred to as mũhingo , with initiation taking place at

13570-409: Was hence thought to be closer to God than anybody else living in that nation. The said person also had to demonstrate and practice the highest levels of truth ( maa ) and justice ( kihooto ), just like the supreme God of the Gĩkũyũ people would do. The Agĩkũyũ had four seasons and two harvests in one year. Further, time was recorded through the initiation by circumcision . Each initiation group

13688-420: Was referred to as mũhingo . ) Karanja (1759–1762), Kĩnũthia (1772–1775), Ndũrĩrĩ (1785–1788), Mũgacho (1798–1801), Njoroge (1811–1814), Kang'ethe (1824–1827), Gitaũ (1837–1840), Manyaki (1850–1853), Kiambũthi (1863–1866), Watuke (1876–1879), Ngũgĩ (1889–1892), Wakanene (1902–1905). The remarkable thing in this list in comparison to the Metumi one is how some of the same names are used, if

13806-437: Was supposed to be held in 1925–1928 [Kenyatta] but was thwarted by the colonial imperialist government and one by one Gĩkũyũ institutions crumbled. The ruling generations, the rĩĩka system can be traced back to the year 1500 AD or thereabouts. These were: The last Ituĩka ceremony where the rĩĩka of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898–1899. The next one was supposed to be held in 1925–1928 but

13924-551: Was thwarted by the colonial government. The traditional symbols of power among the Agikuyu nation is the Muthĩgi (Stick) which signifies power to lead and the Itimũ (Spear) signifying power to call people to war. The traditional way of life of Agikuyu was disrupted when they came into contact with the British around 1888. British explorers had visited the region prior the " Scramble for Africa ", and now various individuals moved to establish

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