'Keeping this land safe' : stakeholder conceptualisations of protection in the context of a Mijikenda (Kenya) world heritage site

This discussion explores stakeholder conceptualisations of 'keeping this land safe' in the context of ten Mijikenda kayas, which became World Heritage in 2008. It was set against the wider background of high pressure on Kenya's coastal land as a result of large-scale agricultural, tourism and mining activities in the area, to throw into greater relief the efforts of Mijikenda leadership in partnership with National Museums of Kenya (NMK) to protect Mijikenda sacred places against destruction. Considering the World Heritage nomination process from the local perspective, the discussion has demonstrated that local discourse on kayas has been a major mechanism in mobilising an alliance that is viewed by the alliance partners as empowering local sovereignty. The Mijikenda kaya elders seem to capitalise on the increase of political prestige that the World Heritage Convention (WHC) alliance has brought them in Kenya's public domain.