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  • Bandits on the Border: The Last Frontier in the Search for Somali Unity, and: The Law of the Somalis: A Stable Foundation for Economic Development in the Horn of Africa
  • Stephen Burgess
Nene Mburu . Bandits on the Border: The Last Frontier in the Search for Somali Unity. Trenton, N.J.: The Red Sea Press, 2005. xii + 263. Photographs. Notes. Index. $29.95. Paper.
Michael van Notten . The Law of the Somalis: A Stable Foundation for Economic Development in the Horn of Africa. Edited by Spencer Heath MacCallum. Trenton, N.J.: The Red Sea Press, 2005. xii + 263. Map. Appendixes. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $24.95. Paper.

Two main issues facing Somalis are national identity and the process of reconstituting the state of Somalia. Somalis speak one language and share the same culture and outlook toward the world; they could be one nation, but they reside within five different countries and associate with narrow clans. The process of reconstituting the Republic of Somalia around the capital of Mogadishu has taken more than sixteen years to achieve and may still take several more years to finalize. Two new books from The Red Sea Press deal with related issues of Somali identity and law.

In Bandits on the Border, Nene Mburu writes about Somali national identity in eastern Kenya, assessing whether the Somalis who fought against [End Page 251] incorporation into Kenya in the 1960s were truly nationalist secessionist guerrillas or merely bandits. Mburu begins his assessment by analyzing how the British did not incorporate Somalis living in Kenya into the colonial order. As in the case of northern Nigeria and southern Sudan, the British reversed previous colonial policy and decided to force unity among disparate ethnic groups (including Somalis) in Kenya. In 1961, the establishment of the Republic of Somalia inspired Somali political leaders in Kenya to rally for secession from Kenya and incorporation into Somalia. Mburu identifies what he sees as a major problem with the insurgency, which is the Somalia government's support for and direction of the Shifta ("the lawless"), as the Somali secessionists were referred to in Kenya. This support from Somalia led to a sense of dependency that weakened the secessionist movement; as the Shifta began taking their orders from Mogadishu, they lost their internal drive for self-determination.

Mburu is well-placed to write on this subject, having spent time as a child in a detention camp during the "Mau Mau" emergency and as a former Kenyan military officer. He has witnessed both sides—he suffered from British repression of Kenyans and was part of the Kenyan military that engaged in the suppression of Somalis. He uses Kenyan archival materials from the 1950s and 1960s to great effect throughout the book.

In The Law of the Somalis, the late Michael van Notten (who lived and worked with Somalis for many years), with considerable editing and additions by Spencer Heath MacCallum, presents a description and analysis of Somali customary law. The book provides rich details of Somali law, including property law, which is valuable for those interested in customary law.

However, the book does not consider the impact of Islamism (embodied in the rapid rise of the Union of Islamic Courts) and shariah law on Somali customary law. Even more serious, the book goes too far in recommending that Somalis revert to customary law and give up reconstituting the state of Somalia. Van Notten and MacCallum audaciously argue that the modern state and democracy are not for Somalis. An entire chapter is devoted to the debatable argument that the establishment of a free port for Somalis based on customary law would diminish civil strife and enhance national unity. Therefore, the authors tarnish a useful and interesting book by pushing their libertarian ideas too far.

In conclusion, these are very different books, which deal with widely varying challenges facing Somalis and Somalia. One book deals with Somalis living outside the borders of the Republic of Somalia and relations with a state that is not controlled by Somalis. The other book deals with issues of law and order within Somalia but which also pertain to Somalis outside the borders of the troubled republic.

Stephen Burgess
U.S. Air...

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