This article aims to articulate the conceptualisation of inclusion and exclusion through Utu, a theoretical approach emanating from Kenyan Indigenous Communities (KIC), and the implications it has for music education. It argues for a new approach to understanding the relationship between inclusion and exclusion based on the principle of belonging in African thought. This principle underpins the rights of all to participate in life as a part of their aesthetic of life (Katingima Day, 2024) and an aesthetic education that employs aesthetic discernment to human experience. The implications for music education are then explored.
