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From June 2 – June 9, 2012, KACE Sudan’s Kampala office is organizing a photography exhibition on the past and present of the Nubians in Kenya and series of events concerning Nubians in Uganda and cross-border communities in East Africa.
The photography exhibition is called “Kenya’s Nubians: Then and Now,” by photographer Greg Constantine. It documents the history and challenges faced by Nubians in Kenya, and through it, KACE will explore the history of Nubians in Uganda and the effects of statelessness.
Sudanese soldiers were incorporated into the British Army in the 1880’s and brought to Kenya in the early 1900’s. Nubians played a vital role in the defense of Kenya and the development of East Africa, yet unable to return to Sudan, the British allocated land for them, “Kibera,” outside of what would become the city of Nairobi. Since independence Kibera has been contested land, and for over 100 years, the Nubian community has been denied recognition. In addition to their struggle for land rights, obtaining important documents for everyday like like national ID cards and passports has been a challenge.
The June 2 opening event of the exhibition will be a public talk and discussion on the history of Nubians of Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya. A representative of the Kenyan Nubians Council of Elders will speak on the panel, and KACE will facilitate an audience discussion on the challenges facing this cross-border community and the repercussions of statelessness.
On June 4, KACE will show a short Sudanese film called “Josphina,” about a South Sudanese woman raised in northern Sudan who is stripped of her Sudanese nationality after South Sudan’s 2011 independence. A facilitated discussion will follow.
Mish Mash Art Gallery is also holding a satellite exhibition of selected photographs during the week, and on June 6, KACE will facilitate a talk in their gallery titled “Nationhood in East Africa.” This event will focus on nation-building and the struggle for citizenship rights of communities like the Nubians in Kenya and South Sudanese in northern Sudan.
The closing dialogue on June 9 will be held in the KACE garden and will address potential futures for the Nubians in Kenya and other communities in East Africa. The format will be an informal community conversation and include music and poetry from Nubian youth in Uganda.
Al Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE) is a non-governmental and non-profit organization established in 2007 in Khartoum, Sudan., and registered in Uganda in 2010.
Through human and cultural development projects, KACE implements a varied programmatic portfolio that works to establish the conditions for long-term peace and stability in the nation of Sudan. The KACE vision is to see a democratic and multicultural Sudan, where all people are equal in dignity, rights, and opportunities.