'Joy rides for juveniles': vagrant youth and colonial control in Nairobi, Kenya, 1901-52

This article examines the development of juvenile vagrancy and the methods employed by the colonial state to control the phenomenon in Nairobi, Kenya from 1901 until 1952. It argues that juvenile vagrancy originated from a convergence of rural labour crises and urban inadequacies. The growing population of underemployed youths in Nairobi became a source of anxiety for officials and non-African urban residents who believed their presence confirmed African 'de-tribalization', rural impoverishment and participation in urban crime. Colonial legislation and discourse regarding juvenile vagrancy provided the state with substantial authority to arrest and punish juvenile vagrants. However, colonial incapacity created a sharp divide between state policy and practice. The state developed a series of myopic strategies, specifically removal and repatriation, which circumvented its incapacity, provided a semblance of urban order and ultimately failed to eliminate juvenile vagrancy in Nairobi.