While some authors like Gellner are convinced that the concept of civil society is an uniquely Western achievement (Gellner 1994), there is also an precolonial African tradition of invisible governance through aspirations, secrets and socially shared styles (Hecht and Maliqalim, 1994). The indigenous Africa already knew some intermediary organizations between the single household and the government. These organizations ranged from age-sets to brotherhoods and clans, but there also was a broad range of civil society organizations like agricultural work parties, welfare associations, craft guilds, trader and credit associations. With beginning of colonization these organizations were oppressed and ceased to exist or had to go underground (Bratton, 1994: 5; Hopkins, 1973), or they got subordinated to the colonial structures (Oyugi, 2004: 21). Mamdani argues that the civil society in Africa was reserved for the Whites only and distinguishes it sharply from the customary, tribal structures, as these were not ruling by reason and negotiation but mainly by force (Mamdani, 1996). This points to the principle of non-violence being inherent on the concept of civil society.

In the colonies the Christian missionaries were not always backing the authorities but rather were at odds with them. This is known from English colonies like Nyasaland (today Malawi), Rhodesia and Uganda (Keane, 2003: 47.). The churches of the missionaries constituted the core of the civil society, providing primary services. So also the first school in Kenya was established 1846 by the Church Missionary Society in Rabai, Mombasa (Ntarangwi, 2003: 213).

The missionaries were one of the roots of the civilizing initiatives, concentrating on welfare (Kameri-Mbote, 2000: 1), being providers of basic services as well as taking care of orphans and the destitute that would not be supported by the traditional kinship system. Besides the missionary NGOs there were only very few NGOs active in most countries of the colonial Africa. On the field of governance the missionary organization were offering a containment of oppositional trends to the colonial administration as well as supporting the emergence of welfare organizations. So the churches are seen as pacifying possible protests and taking over those groups that might take an anti colonial stance (Oyugi, 2004: 22). As for Kenya the Christian churches played an important role but the independent farmers' organizations that emerged with their help (Bratton, 1994: 5; Kameri-Mbote, 2000: 2).

The colonial economy, that usually was accumulating capital by expropriation, extra-economic coercion and oppression, plan fully weakened the indigenous authorities to secure the colonial rule. This especially included the control of the land, resulting in major inequalities in access to land (Kanyinga, 2007: 350). The resulting process of urbanization and also the introduction of the market economy brought about new forms of voluntary associations trying to help people adjust to the new conditions and go after their interests. Thus in Kenya agricultural cooperatives were founded in the areas where commodity production was beginning. They became the basis not only for the local elites, but also for the anti-colonial and anti-racial movements, particularly in the Lake Victoria region, joining forces with peasant movements protesting land expropriation, forced labor and poll tax. In Kenya this resulted in a violent peasant struggle, the Mau Mau movement between 1952 and 1960 (Grawert, 2004: 7), but also in passive resistance of other ethnic groups (Murunga, 2000). After the African countries gained their independence these organizations became the building blocks for the political parties (Bratton, 1994: 5), accordingly in Kenya the leadership of the Mau Mau movement formed the KANU (Grawert, 2004: 7).

References

Bratton, Michael (1994): Civil Society and Political Transition in Africa. IDR Reports 6/1994.

Gellner, Ernest (1994): Conditions of Liberty. Civil Society and Its Rivals. London: Penguin.

Grawert, Elke (2004): Civil Society Structures in Comparative Perspective: Special Focus on Eastern Africa. Paper presented during the 2004 VAD Conference 02.06-05.06.2004 Universität Hannover. Internet: http://www.vad-ev.de/2004/download/01tagung/020papers2004/Panel_CivilSociety/vad2004_Grawert.pdf (accessed: 12-1-2009).

Hecht, D. / Maliqalim, S. (1994): Invisible Governance: The Art of African Micropolitics. New York.

Hopkins, A. G. (1973): An Economic History of West Africa. London: Longman.

Kameri-Mbote, Patricia (2000): The Operational Environment and Constraints for NGOs in Kenya: Strategies for Good Policy and Practice. IELRC Working Paper 2/2000. Geneva: IELRC.

Kanyinga, Karuti (2007): Governance institutions and inequality. In: Society for International Development (SID). Readings on inequality in Kenya. Nairobi, SID: 345-398.

Keane, J. (2003). Global Civil Society? Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.

Mamdani, M. (1996): Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Murunga, Godwin, R. (2000): Civil Society and the Democratic Experience in Kenya. A Review of Constitution-making from the Middle: Civil Society and Transition Politics in Kenya, 1992-1997, by Willy Mutunga. Sareat & Mwengo, Nairobi, 1999. In: African Sociological review 1/2000: 97-118.

Ntarangwi, Mwenda (2003): The Challenge of Education and Development in Post-Colonial Kenya. In: Africa Development 3-4/2003: 211-228.

Oyugi, Walter O. (2004): The Role of NGOs in Fostering development and Good Govrnace at the Local Level in Africa with a Focus on Kenya. In: Africa Development 4/2004: 19-55.