School of Social and Political Science

How Koitalel Lost His Head: A Kenyan History of Heroic Resistance, 1905-2025

Category
Seminar
12 November 2025
16:15 - 18:30

Venue

Hybrid Event (Register your attendance via Eventbrite)
Room 2.55
Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI)

Description

The British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) in partnership with the School of History, Classics and Archaeology (HCA), and the Centre of African Studies (CAS), are delighted to invite you to the following event:

'How Koitalel Lost His Head: A Kenyan History of Heroic Resistance, 1905-2025'

Speaker: Professor David M Anderson, Global History & Culture Centre, University of Warwick


Koitalel is the most celebrated of all Kenya’s heroes of resistance.  Shot by a treacherous British officer, it is now said that Koitalel was beheaded by his assassin, and that his skull is displayed in the British Museum.  Abundant historical evidence disproves this claim, yet it circulates widely.  This lecture will explain how Koitalel “lost his head” and discuss why Africa’s history is being misrepresented by exaggerated tropes of colonial atrocity.


When: Wednesday 12th November (4:15pm-6:30pm) GMT

Where: Room 2.55 - Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI)

Format: Hybrid (Please RSVP via Eventbrite)

Key speakers

  • Professor David M Anderson, University of Warwick

Partner institutions

  • The British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA)

Price

Free

Location

Room 2.55 Edinburgh Future Institutes