Restoring Agambe: The "Spokesmen" System
Having established the authority of a single set of elders, Hopkins was gratified to see an appreciable drop in the level of illicit cattle-raiding. He then addressed the problem of the elders' passivity, feeling it was due at least partially to their lack of the administrative authority before the conquest had been used to maintain discipline within their communities. Reflecting on this, he seized on the idea of restoring the system of communal spokesmen (the Agambe system), as part of a larger goal of returning traditional authority to Meru elders as a whole. It was only owing to the frequent changes in district commissioner, he subsequently wrote, "that the system of administering clans through their own Agambe [spokesmen] has been lost sight of and has apparently fallen into disuse for many years."[8]
Hopkins began by dismantling the lowest level of the existing administrative structure, that of the tribal retainers (Njama), and replacing them with Agambe. Thereafter, he hoped to replace the colonial
headmen with them as well, arguing that those considered spokesmen for their peoples should logically lead them, whereas the government-appointed headmen were disinclined to use what little authority they had.
Hopkins carried out his plan between 1929 and 1932, gradually dismissing existing tribal retainers and replacing them with men considered spokesmen for their clans. To ensure adequate selection, he informally sought out respected elders in every clan, from whom he elicited the names of individuals they wished to represent them. Once identified, he appointed these as clan Agambe (spokesmen), explaining that their role would be both to aid headmen in implementing colonial decisions and to advise them of the expectations of each clan. To stir their enthusiasm, Hopkins offered each appointee a monthly wage.
Hopkins subsequently reported that he had reinstituted the "Agambe system" throughout the district. Although several individuals did choose to serve, he made three errors. One lay in his assumption that appointees were "heads of clans," a pattern prevalent in other parts of Britain's empire. In fact, they all represented a far larger communal institution, personified initially by their local Kiamas but ultimately by their regional Njuri. Thus every appointee was spokesman for a single institution. For Hopkins to recognize them as clan leaders was not enough. For them to function as he expected, he would have had to recognize the dual Kiama and Njuri system for which they "spoke" as well.
Hopkins's second error lay in the expectation that his appointees, once recognized by government, would willingly serve two masters. They had found this impossible during the early decades of British rule and found it no easier during the 1930s. Most of the elders chosen saw Hopkins's selection as an attempt to seduce them from their rightful function as spokesmen for their own Njuris. Because the Njuris were still banned, they had no organization to represent. Most refused to serve. A few accepted. Neither group proved able to serve two masters effectively.
Hopkins's final error was his decision to offer pay. It was usually refused. Puzzled, he abandoned the idea, at least briefly, for lack of sufficient funds to pay what he feared the appointees would require. Here he misread the elders' motives. To have accepted any pay at all would have transformed them into spokesmen for the government. The qualities of spokesmanship that had originally led to their selection by their comrades were derived from serving Meru. Those would have been lost had the elders accepted wages to serve England.
Nonetheless, Hopkins persevered, gradually replacing first tribal retainers and then headmen with elders prominent in their communities. Despite his errors, his policy marked a major turning point in relationships between colonial officials and leading Meru elders. From their perspective he became the first administrator since E. B. Horne to see value in the tribal past and show respect for its tradition. At the very least, Hopkins began to inspire trust.
Hopkins saw himself simply as practical. Faced with the dual problem of lawlessness among the young and apathy among the old, it seemed only logical to restore the authority of elders, thereby allowing them to discipline the youth. His contribution was creating an environment wherein traditional spokesmen could speak out without fear. Its flaw lay in his refusal to recognize the institution for which they claimed to speak; the Njuri system was banned as a witchcraft tribunal as long as Hopkins ruled.