Degodia (Clan)

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The Degodi or Degodia (Somali: Degoodi or Degoodiya, Arabic: دغودي‎) is a major Somali clan. Members of the clan primarily inhabit Kenya and Ethiopia and southern Somalia. Like many Somalis, Degodia members trace their paternal ancestry to Samaale, through their Gardhere ancestor. They are genealogically related to the other Samaale, but in particular to the Garjante, Gaalje'el, Masare, Isa (Saransor) and 'Awrmale, with which they share the same ancestor Gardhere Samaale.

The Degodia clan is made up of 10 sub-clans. The Degodia community launched their flag on 29th of November 2020 at Grand Royal Hotel in Eastleigh, Nairobi. The ceremony was attended by politicians, religious leaders, youth, women and representatives.

The launched Degodia flag is horizontal tricolour of black at the top, blue Somalia flag with white star in the middle and red at the bottom. During the launch, it was explained that the black represents Degodias living in Kenya, the red colour represents their people living in Ethiopia and the Somalia flag represents their people living in Somalia.

History

When Arthur Donaldson Smith traveled through what is now Bare woreda in 1895, their territory stretching east to the Weyib and Dawa Rivers. The Degodia are said to have originated around the rivers Dawa^{[citation needed]}, Parma and Ganale Daria in southeastern Ethiopia and from Eel Ali in Somalia, where clansmen are still present today. The Degodia community across the world are united under one leader called Wabar. The current Wabar (King) is Wabar Abdille Wabar Abdi.

The Degodia have a unique traditional system of leadership/authority. Supreme authority is vested in the Wabar and exercised through a consultative process that brings together community representatives (guurti) and council of elders. The Wabar has got 15 advisors and over 100 council of elders.

The Degodia are united under one leadership of the Wabar. Therefore his traditional jurisdiction transcends space.

Succession in the Wabar system of leadership is determined by descent. The crown is inherited through family lineage. Pedigree plays a critical role in determining who is crowned as the next Wabar.

So far there are 12 Wabars who served the community:

1. Wabar Cuudow 2. Wabar Amiin 3. Wabar Ali 4. Wabar Omar 5. Wabar Caalin 6. Wabar Abdi 7. Wabar Omar 8. Wabar Ali 9. Wabar Hassan 10. Wabar Osman 11. Wabar Abdi 12. Wabar Abdille (incumbent)

The community’s global traditional leader is Wabar Abdille, who visited Kenya in 2019 and was received by Somalis community and President Uhuru Kenyatta in Kenya. In their culture they performed a unique cultural dance called Balaqley.

Massacre

Overview

The Wagalla massacre took place on 10 February 1984 at the Wagalla Airstrip. The facility is situated approximately 15 km (9 mi) west of the county capital of Wajir in the North Eastern Province,

However, according to eye-witness testimony, about 5,000 Somali men were then taken to an airstrip and prevented from accessing water and food for five days before being executed by Kenyan soldiers. The Wagalla massacre represents the worst human rights violation in Kenya's history.

Death toll

The exact number of people killed in the massacre is unknown. However, eyewitnesses place the figure at around 5,000 deaths.

Aftermath

For years the Kenyan government denied that a massacre had taken place and insisted that "only 57 people were killed in a security operation to disarm the [area's] residents".It was not until October 2000 that the government publicly acknowledged wrongdoing on the part of its security forces

In 2010, Bethuel Kiplagat stepped aside as chairman of the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission because of his alleged involvement in authorising the action that led to the massacre.

Reports of the number of men from the Somali Degodia sub-clans, in particular, that were detained by security forces and brought to the airstrip range from 381 to upward of ten thousand.

In February 2015, the Wajir County governor Ahmed Abdullahi said his government would partner with local and international human rights organisations in seeking justice for the victims of the massacre, saying that the Truth Commission report offered such an opportunity which remained squandered. "Those mentioned by the TJRC report and witnesses must be prosecuted. The people who afflicted the pain to our people remain unpunished and are still with us," Abdullahi said.

Film

The film/documentary Scarred: The Anatomy of a Massacre, directed by Judy Kibinge, founder of the East African Documentary Film Fund, is the first independent visual attempt to chronicle the history of the massacre as experienced by both the victims and survivors, some of whom were government officials. The documentary was launched at the National Museum in Nairobi in February 2015

Clan tree

The Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology's Conflict analysis in Bakool and Bay, South-western Somalia (2004) shows the following clan tree for the Degoodi:

- Samaale

• Gardere
  • Garjente
    • Riyole
      • Mantan
        • Saransur
          • Degodia
          • Gaalje'el
          • Massare
          • Isa

References

• [1]
• ^ Adam, Hussein Mohamed; Ford, Richard (1997-01-01). Mending rips in the sky: options for Somali communities in the 21st century. Red Sea Press. p. 127. ISBN 9781569020739.
• ^ Ahmed, Ali Jimale (1995-01-01). The Invention of Somalia. The Red Sea Press. p. 121-123. ISBN 9780932415998.
• Ng'ang'a, Wangũhũ (2006-01-01). Kenya's ethnic communities: foundation of the nation. Gatũndũ Publishers. p. 522. ISBN 9789966975706.
• The Degodia community are the shareholders of National Government in Kenya
• Odalo, Bob (26 March 2000). "How Mulinge Saved Kenyatta From Coup". The Nation.
• Ongeri, Boniface & Victor Obure (9 December 2004). "Fading images: How province is fighting one-eyed bandit's legacy". The Standard. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
• Ngunjiri, Philip (4 November 1998). "Muslim leaders oppose plan to exhume bodies". Inter Press Service. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
• "Leaders demand probe into 1994 killings in northeast". The People. 16 June 2002.
• Opondo, Owino (19 October 2000). "Wagalla issue causes uproar in the House". The Nation.
• "Two-Week Ultimatum to Land Grabbers". East African Standard. 28 February 2003. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
• Maliti, Tom (14 September 2003). "Kenyans seek commission to discover truth of '84 mass killing". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A18. Retrieved 9 August 2007.(alternate link)
• Kiplagat, TJRC foes call a truce

1. ^ See: In new documentary, Wagalla Massacre victims recount horror of dark days, Sahan Journal, 16 February 2015. Accessed on 26 June 2015.
2. ^ See: A report with detailed testimonies of witnessess, by Judy Kibinge. Accessed on 18 Feb. 2021.

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