Curtains fall on unsung archivist who helped out many scholars

Any historian, both local and international, who has been at the Kenya National Archives (KNA), knows Richard Ambani – the walking archive and, perhaps, the most knowledgeable soul about the bowels of this citadel of knowledge.

While he got no national honours for his contribution to history, Mr Ambani was the unsung hero among historians and other academics who use the Kenya archives.

When he died last week, Mr Ambani — for a long time the head of the search room — left a void that will be felt by researchers, PhD students, historians, and the few journalists who relied on his guidance to navigate through the rich archives to tell the Kenyan history.

Although he retired from the government service in 1998, Mr Ambani continued to offer his services to researchers and from a place he called home ever since he joined the national archives in 1966.

Easy nature

Actually, almost all books and dissertations about the history of Kenya acknowledge his service.
John Lonsdale, Emeritus Professor University of Cambridge, says he owes his understanding of Kenya’s history to Mr Ambani’s skills: "Back in the late 20th century, I used to try to spend one month every year in the Kenya National Archives. Richard Ambani was always there with a cheerful greeting and a pile of files already waiting for me — and not only the files I had asked for but also others that he thought would be useful, and in this he was usually right. I could never have acquired such understanding as I have of Kenya's history without his own understanding and skills."

Prof Lonsdale, together with Prof Bruce Berman, is the author of the two-volume Unhappy Valley: Conflict in Kenya and Africa and Mau Mau and Nationalism, which he co-authored with E.S. Atieno Odhiambo.

Perhaps it was Mr Ambani’s easy and welcoming nature that made researchers trust him. As a young journalist, I first met Ambani in late 1990s and he showed me how to use the archives, search for documents and understand the filing system.

"It is hard to imagine returning to the KNA and not receiving Mzee Ambani's warm greetings. There is scarcely any research produced on Kenyan history in the past several decades that does not owe a great debt to the tireless commitment, vast knowledge, and deep generosity of Mzee Ambani. Being from Kakamega, Mzee Ambani took a particularly keen interest in my work in western Kenya, and provided critical guidance and insights for my research. He has left a lasting legacy not only as a guardian of Kenya's archival past but also as a remarkable teacher, storyteller, and friend,” says Dr Julie MacArthur, associate professor of history at the University of Toronto and author of Cartography and the Political Imagination in Colonial Kenya and Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion.

Scholarly work

The same sentiments are shared by Martin Shanguhyia, an Associate Professor of history at Syracuse University who describes Mr Ambani as “a true professional, one given to his mission of helping researchers of all backgrounds. But what made him unique was his humanity — full of grace, kindness, and caring. Always friendly, yet so professional. Unbeknown to Kenyans, he was the face of the KNA and its mission."

“Ambani's knowledge greatly enabled the research that I and dozens of other historians did,” recalls Derek Peterson, a professor of history and African studies at the University of Michigan. “When I was working on the book that became Creative Writing, Richard was the key figure in the Kenya National Archives  — he knew where the files were, and he was always happy to help new scholars think through research questions and find resources.”

Two years ago, Dr Keren Weitzberg, a history lecturer at the University College, London, and author of We Do Not Have Borders: Greater Somalia & the Predicaments of Belonging in Kenya, wrote an unprovoked tweet: “Richard Ambani at the Kenyan National Archives should get more credit for enabling so many scholars’ careers (myself included).”

According to Dr Anna Bruzzone, a history lecturer at Orier College, University of Oxford, “so much scholarly work would have never seen the light of day without Richard Ambani's help. A chapter in the history of the Kenya National Archives is now closed. The place won't be the same without Richard's authoritative, graceful presence.”

Ambani, 79, will be buried tomorrow in Kakamega.

[email protected] @johnkamau1