The Mau Mau Movement

[Ɔkyeame Kwame]

THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE

The Mau Mau Movement

* Background
* The Fighting
* Jomo Kenyatta's Involvement
* Achievements of Mau Mau

Background
The Mau Mau Movement began among the Gikuyu who shared the same grievances with all other Kenyan peoples. At the same time, land shortages among the Gikuyu were particularly bad. There were many settler farms in Gikuyuland and a lot of Gikuyu land had been taken for European settlement.

Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Africans had regularly presented their grievances to the colonial government in Nairobi and the government in London. Under the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta, the Kenya African Union (KAU) had become a national party with wide support from the people. It too, had played its part in demanding a settlement of African grievances. The Government however, did nothing except make promises. Meanwhile the white settlers were themselves pressing Britain for independence under white minority rule. Many Africans were beginning to think that what could not be achieved by peaceful means might be achieved by violence. After all, the colonial government had been promising reforms for a long time. Nothing had come of the promises. As early as 1921 in a list of grievances sent to the Colonial Secretary, Harry Thuku, acting for the East African Association, had written:

"When we went to do war work we were told by His Excellency the governor that we should be rewarded, but it is our reward to have our tax raised and to have registration papers given to us for our ownership of land to be called into question; to be told today that we are to receive title deeds and tomorrow for it to appear that we are not to receive them"
By 1945-50, the situation had not changed, yet Africans had given their lives and labor on behalf of the British in yet another world war. In 1946, a Gikuyu group called Anake a Forty (the warriors of 1940) stated that the lost lands could be regained only through war. They urged Kenyans to fight for their rights. From 1947, members of the Gikuyu, Embu, Meru and Kamba communities began swearing on oath that they were ready to fight and die for their rights.

Meanwhile the British did nothing to persuade Kenyans that reforms would soon be made. In 1947, police opened fire on striking workers at Uplands Bacon Factory, which saw three Africans killed. In 1951, a KAU delegation went to London to present African claims to the Colonial Secretary, where all their demands were rejected.

In October 1952, Senior Chief Waruhiu was killed in broad daylight. He was well known as a supporter of the British. The new governor of Kenya, Sir Everlyn Baring, reacted to this and to reports of unrest by declaring a state of emergency due to Mau Mau activities. This was on 20th October 1952. On the same day six leading African nationalists and KAU officials were arrested. These were Jomo Kenyatta, Achieng Aneko, Fred Kubai, Bildad Kaggia, Paul Ngei and Kung'u Karumba. They were charged with leading Mau Mau, an organization that had been banned in 1950. They were convicted and imprisoned. In 1953, KAU and all other national political parties for Africans were banned. This caused the Mau Mau wars to break out in earnest.

The Fighting
Most of the fighting took place in the Central Province, Aberdares (Nyandarua), around Mt. Kenya and in Nakuru District. There were attacks on police stations and other government offices as well as on settler farms. As British troops fought the Mau Mau in the forests, the colonial government took strict measures against civilians. Many people were detained in concentration camps while others were forced to live in "protected" villages. It was not until 1955, when the British gained the upper hand against the Mau Mau, in spite of the much better arms and equipment of the Royal Army and Air Force. Even after 1955 fighting continued in some areas. In 1959, freehold titles in large numbers had been issued to Africans, new farm supports were in place, and a campaign was underway to employ landless people. The growth of the Agrarian middle class had started to pick up.
Jomo Kenyatta's Involvement
Jomo Kenyatta was in exile during the 1952 to 1959 period. He had been arrested in 1952, brought to trial for complicity in Mau Mau, found guilty and sentenced to 7 years hard labor. Government witnesses linked Kenyatta closely enough to early "seditious talk" to make the Government's case. Kenyatta's trial and exile plus his many years in Europe, kept him aloof from local squabbles. He was an untainted person and thus politically attractive to many different African factions. The events that followed between 1959 and 1963 were to build on Kenyatta's "returning hero" image and give him the stature to become the unchallenged candidate to lead the new nation.

Achievements of Mau Mau
The main achievements of the Mau Mau movement can be summarised as follows: -

1. The British government in London learned that the colonial government in Kenya could not govern Kenya properly and then relied on British troops to solve the problems it had helped create.
2. The British government learned the British rule in Kenya could be maintained only by the use of massive military force. Mau Mau freedom fighters armed with home made and captured weapons had engaged thousands of highly-trained British troops. The cost of the war was very high. Furthermore it was unpopular with many of the conscript troops who sympathized with the aims of the African nationalists, and also many people living in Britain.
3. Mau Mau made it perfectly clear that the Africans of Kenya knew their rights and were prepared to fight and die for them.
4. The emergency brought Kenya to the attention of the world through press and media reports. It became impossible for the British to continue claiming that most Kenyans were happy and content under their rule.
5. The Mau Mau War put an end to the hopes of white settlers for independence under the white minority rule. As a result of Mau Mau the British government began planning for Kenyan independence under majority rule.