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Vernacular pop, political satire and electoral propaganda in Samburu| 24th July, 2023

Vernacular pop, political satire and electoral propaganda among the pastoral Samburu.

Mobile phones, performance and power among the pastoral Samburu.

Vernacular pop and political satire as tools of propaganda and contestation in Kenya’s 2022 elections.

The spread of mobile phones in the 2010s among the Samburu, semi-nomadic pastoralists in Kenya, paved the way for new social and entrepreneurial categories, particularly among young, educated men and women. Artists and content creators, two new socio-professional figures in this community, quickly established themselves as cultural and political reference points. The process of professionalization (or semi-professionalization) of which they are the protagonists is mainly linked to the production and circulation of songs in vernacular pop style and actors’ performances in audio/video format shared via Bluetooth, WhatsApp, and YouTube. This multimedia content blends elements of local material and immaterial heritage (such as musico-choreographic repertoires and traditional body ornaments) with artistic practices and genres of urban origins (pop and rap, as well as acting and political satire). The overlapping of these aesthetic registers enables these young people to cultivate their success and perform on stage in the cities and in the remotest parts of the Samburu region. The notoriety capital and artistic know-how they develop through their mastery of digital tools (mobile phones as well as editing software and communication applications) can, in certain circumstances, be translated into political capital and mobilized in power acquisition and institutional legitimization dynamics. On the one hand, artists see their work as a means of occupying roles of responsibility within their communities, particularly in ceremonial and political contexts. On the other, national and regional politicians are increasingly taking advantage of the fame and compositions of Samburu artists during election campaigns to increase their consensus in rural areas. The digital circulation of songs and videos created to support their campaigns or the presence of these artists at their rallies are, in fact, now indispensable instruments for highlighting candidates’ ability to embody multiple identities between the pastoral world and the urban dimension. In other cases, political satire becomes a tool of contestation unseen within Samburu society used to deconstruct the populist propaganda of local candidates. Based on an ethnography of the 2022 election campaign in Kenya, in this paper, I will look at how digital file sharing produces new ways of constructing and exercising authority at both individual and collective levels. More generally, I will analyze mobile phones’ role in creating new forms of masculine and feminine power in East African pastoral communities.


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
IFRA Nairobi (July 4, 2023). Vernacular pop, political satire and electoral propaganda in Samburu| 24th July, 2023. IFRA Nairobi. Retrieved February 16, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/pw3u