HISTORY

1884 -1920: Origins of the Kenyan State

1920 - 1963: Building the Colony >

1963 - 1978: Jomo Kenyatta

1978 - 2002: Daniel arap Moi

Kenya Historical Timeline

Mt. Kenya (5,199 metres) gave its name to the country.

The Dedan Kimathi memorial on Kimathi Street, Nairobi. Kimathi was a military leader in the Mau Mau. The Mau Mau uprising marked the beginning of the end for colonialism in Africa.

KENYA AS A BRITISH COLONY

1920 – 1963: Building a European state in Africa

From 1884, when the partition of Africa by European powers was concluded at Berlin, Britain administered the territory lying between Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean as a protectorate.

In the geopolitical language of the 19th century, a protectorate was a land where a foreign power wanted to preclude other powers from laying a claim to such territory. In British East Africa, there existed no administrative structure to govern the territory and life for Africans continued unperturbed. In the 1890’s the Imperial British East Africa Company was formed but its activities were mostly restricted to the port of Mombasa.

The building of a railway line from Mombasa to Lake Victoria opened up the interior to trade, agriculture and settlement by English settlers.  Government incentives and the prospects of owning huge tracts of land attracted the first English settlers to the highlands of Central Kenya and the Rift Valley. The high altitude climate is neither too hot nor too cold, neither too wet nor too dry and was perfect for commercial farming of beef, coffee, tea, cotton, wheat and maize. The highland plateaus, with rolling green hills and coniferous trees, indeed resemble the English countryside with the advantage of year-round sunshine.

Settlers arrived in British East Africa and wasted little time in setting up ranches, hotels and plantations. The economy grew in size and sophistication as modern commerce took hold in the territory. Missionaries continued preaching the gospel while opening schools and it was just a matter of time that Africans started getting involved in the modern economy – and politics as well. All these developments required the posting of more administrators from Britain, and the reshaping of security policy from conquest into the maintenance of public order which, at the time, included keeping the native “in his rightful place.”

In 1920, British East Africa was renamed Kenya Colony and was henceforth administered like a modern state. The country was to be ruled by Governors appointed by the Colonial Office in London. Under the Governor were Provincial Commissioners, District Commissioners and Divisional Officers in descending order of seniority. Eventually, the burgeoning white settler population demanded for, and got, representation in government through a Legislative Assembly (LEGCO) which had no African representation. In later years, the Kenya colonial government created the office of Native Commissioner in an attempt to appease Africans but the real influence on the colony’s destiny still lay with the white settlers groups.

The fact that colonial Kenya was intended to serve the economic and geopolitical interests of Britain was not in dispute. As white settlements expanded across the country, priorities extended towards creating all necessary conditions that could ensure the settlers’ prosperity, security and long-term dominance of the economy. Not unlike apartheid South Africa, or pre-1960’s United States, policies were created with the deliberate objective of keeping Africans from participating in commerce and politics.

Africans did not have the right to vote. Their best land was confiscated by colonial authorities and allocated to settlers. Africans could not grow coffee or tea and neither could they raise dairy cattle. Africans were forbidden from hunting wild game. An ambitious African would find it frustrating to advance to higher levels of education in university without the influence of a missionary group. Most Africans received just sufficient education to work in manual jobs. In the civil service, Africans rarely advanced beyond clerical level for all managerial and administrative positions in the civil service were the preserve of government officials from Britain. Taxes were made mandatory in order to force Africans seek work in white settler farms.

Africans were not allowed free movement, not only across the country, but even within cities. It was mandatory to wear an identification card around one’s neck at all times. In Nairobi, Africans could not walk freely around the town centre, and indeed, there were specific residential areas for each racial group. The whites naturally took up the well endowed highlands, leaving Africans in increasingly congested Native Reserves. Cultural interaction between blacks and whites was taboo. There were separate schools and intermarriage was out of the question.

At times, the discrimination against Africans went to absurd levels: Africans were forbidden from drinking beer on grounds that they would get uncontrollably drunk, and thus pose a threat to their white settler employers.

By the 1920s, these discriminative policies had provoked grumbling from the Africans coming out of the missionary-based education system. They wanted jobs, the right to vote, the right to own land and the right to engage in commerce. More importantly, the African population wanted a voice in the government of the time through the Legislative Assembly. Political parties such as the Kikuyu Central Association were formed to champion African civil rights. Not surprisingly, the colonial government would succumb to pressure from the white settler population by banning African political parties and jailing its proponents. In spite of this, Africans became more vocal in their calls for fair treatment.

Among them was Johnstone Kamau, a young man who had worked for the Nairobi Municipal Council in the 1910’s. He traveled to Britain in the 1920’s to speak directly to colonial authorities – a trip that was to last almost 20 years and which changed his life drastically. Its during his stay in the UK that he acquired the famous name, “Jomo Kenyatta”.

World War 2 marked a turning point in relations between Africans, the colonial government and the white settler population. Thousands of able-bodied African men were drafted into the Kings African Rifles to fight against Italy in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and against Imperial Japanese forces in Burma (Myanmar). The experiences of African soldiers overseas and on the battle field raised their political awareness and once demobilized, joined the calls for greater African involvement in the colonial government coupled with demands for economic justice.

By the 1950s the colonial authorities had conceded to some of the African demands for representation in the government. A few educated Africans were selected to join the Legislative Assembly as provincial representatives. It was hoped that this would appease the African populace but since the reforms did not extend to the economy, agitation for civil rights transformed into agitation for African independence. White settlers were, naturally, opposed to the idea of African independence for fear of losing their property and investments which were protected by colonial laws.

In 1952, agitation for independence turned violent. Demobilized World War 2 veterans took up arms to fight the colonial government by engaging in guerilla warfare from deep mountain forests. The guerilla movement called itself the Kenya Land & Freedom Army but was dubbed the “Mau Mau”. Colonial authorities dismissed Mau Mau as a terrorist organization intent on creating chaos out of civilized society. Governor Sir Evelyn Baring declared a state of emergency on October 20, 1952 leading to the arrest of many African political activists and their subsequent trial and incarceration. Among them was Jomo Kenyatta, who had by then returned to Kenya from Britain. Governor Baring described Kenyatta as, “a leader unto death and darkness.”

Though a handful of white settlers were killed, most of the attacks by the Mau Mau were against symbols of colonial government authority. Police stations and military posts were raided for weapons. Home guards and Chiefs were targeted for their role as collaborators, while villagers reluctant to support the fighters by providing shelter and food were also targeted.

By 1957, military operations by Her Majesty’s forces combined with air strikes had succeeded in defeating the Mau Mau. The arrest, detention and execution of key leaders helped crush the insurgency but the British were quick to realize that African independence was a matter of time. At this time, the economies of Europe were still recovering from the devastation of World War 2 and there were little funds to spare subduing restive populations in Africa. Independence talks began in the late 1950s.

The period between 1960 and 1963 was spent in negotiations between Kenyan African leaders and colonial authorities both in Nairobi and in London. A constitution was written and approved by all sides. Agreements were made to determine the fate of the thousands of white settlers and their investment – the status quo was to prevail but Africans would be granted equal opportunity in all sectors of the economy. Land would be acquired by a future African government on a “willing seller, willing buyer” basis from those settlers opting to leave the country.

Elections were held where African parties participated, the biggest of which were the Kenya African National Union (KANU) and the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU). KANU, led by Jomo Kenyatta, won the election and formed the first independent African government of Kenya.

74 year old Jomo Kenyatta was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Kenya in 1963 though the Head of State would still be the Queen of England. One year later, on 12th December 1964, Kenya became a Republic with Jomo Kenyatta as the first President.

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