Chapter 6 explains the uneasy integration of the Copperbelt region into the two nation-states of DRC and Zambia. It explores how the Copperbelt border was given new political and moral meanings in official attempts to impose national identities on the region’s mobile communities. It shows how the centrality of Copperbelt mining wealth to projects of national development necessitated political control from distant capitals, generating conflict (in Zambia) with labour unions and fuelling political opposition, while (in Haut-Katanga) the secession was followed by military occupation and political rule by decree. The chapter explains the nationalisation of copper mining companies and the ways that ruling elites sought effective national control over mineral wealth and Copperbelt societies, but also the limits to this control. It also investigates the nationalisation/Africanisation of knowledge production about the Copperbelt in the region’s universities and among leading Zairian and Zambian intellectuals.

South Africa’s approach to knowledge has been described as being ‘derivative, rather than leading (Leibowitz, 2017: xx). Academics from the global South tend to consume Western theories rather than generating their own theories (De Souza, 2007: 135) – hence, their engagement with calls to transform and ‘decolonise’ the curriculum. Questions that need answering include the following: How does decolonisation relate to content, pedagogy and assessment? What do we base our curricula on – epistemic practices developed elsewhere in the world? If so, how do we apply international best practices without ignoring indigenous and locally relevant research? Key to transforming the curriculum in Africa’s complex linguistic contexts is multilingualism, as embodied in the work of translators and interpreters. In South Africa post transition, for instance, interpreters in court, conference and educational contexts are vital to the functioning of South Africa as a multilingual country. But to what extent is this rich praxis reflected in research in interpreting in South Africa, and has it assisted academics to derive new theories? This chapter aims to describe trends observed in the field of Interpreting Studies in South Africa over the past ten years (2006–2016) on the premise that decolonisation must be preceded by a thorough description of the discipline.

Chapter 7 explores how Kenyatta’s presidential authority evolved after the stabilisation of his regime. It first analyses how the politicization of the land market was an exercise of regime-building, establishing a network of shared dependencies, allocating land to local political “big-men”. This is followed by an examination of the early years of the politics of succession. By 1965, the fragile alliance of convenience set up between Kenyatta and his main contenders, Oginga Odinga and Tom Mboya, was beginning to crack, while Kenyatta’s old age and fragile health revived the question of presidential succession. The government’s merciless repression against any form of opposition and dissidence culminated with the murder of Tom Mboya in 1969. Throughout these years, Kenyatta used the same strategy that had salvaged him during the “Release Kenyatta” campaign: preserving the status quo. He was left with the role of ruling over a divided political family, using his unrivalled access to state resources.