Monday, May 27, 2013

Introduction


There often comes a point in time when a colony reaches its “breaking point”; the moment at which impassioned, strong-willed, tenacious leaders arise and pledge to end the oppression and exploitation of their followers.  Over the course of history, colonies around the world have reached the pinnacle of their ire against their colonizers, and pursued varying methods of ending their foreign domination.  Before the mid-1900s, global “powerhouses”, such as Britain, focused heavily on their imperial agendas and snatched any piece of weakly inhabited land that seemed promising.  However, by 1945, a domino chain of colonies were beginning to slip away from the established European hegemony, determined to prove to the world that they were self-reliant and could manage their own affairs.  At the same time, they could avoid economic exploitation and political manipulation that they had previously faced under their colonizers.
Jomo Kenyatta
            Kenya’s decolonization process was fairly unique, as its leader, Jomo Kenyatta, acted as both a martyr amid rebellious violence and, ironically, an oppressor after he had driven the British out of his country.  Jomo Kenyatta is perhaps the most influential individual associated with Kenya’s independence, but a group composed of Kikuyu, the largest ethic group in Kenya, instigated what became known as the Mau Mau rebellion to instill the realization in the British that Kenya would no longer tolerate imperial rule.  Though the Mau Mau was violent and took thousands of lives, it carried out an imperative operation that would eventually allow Kenyans to truly be free.
            However, Kenya’s independence would promise instability for the new nation.  Citizens would be plagued with the burdens of a corrupt, biased administration.  In following years, extreme poverty would counterbalance the benefits of a moderately more steady government.  However, despite the hardships that came with independence, Kenya is gradually beginning to develop a more modern, sophisticated political and economic structure on which it can participate in global activities and hopefully provide a better quality of life for its citizens in the future.

Mau Mau Rebellion; Beginning of Jomo Kenyatta's Influence


Following World War I, the British offered land to their former soldiers in the British East Africa Protectorate, which increased the population of Europeans in what became known as the Kenya Colony.  The native Kenyan population was oppressed and forced off of their own land as the colonial administration reserved the highest quality plots for the incoming European settlers and established a cheap labor force.  Jomo Kenyatta, who later became a pioneer for Kenyan independence, had fought for Britain during World War II, and returned to Kenya to become the leader of the Kenyan African Union.  At the same time, the rural Kikuyu, the biggest ethnic group of the colony, formed a secret society.  Known as the Mau Mau, they plotted to violently overthrow the British colonial government.  The Mau Mau, driven with resentment and anger towards their oppressors, assassinated a Kenyan leader who had supported the British colonial government.  After a state of emergency (which lasted for eight years) was declared in 1952, Kenyatta, a Kikuyu, accused with leading the Mau Mau, was arrested by the government, despite the fact that there had been no legitimate evidence of his involvement in the uprising.  The arrest of the popular, respected Kenyatta sparked further anger within the Mau Mau, and in response they launched nighttime guerilla attacks, ironically targeting mostly prosperous natives as opposed to whites.  British authorities gathered Kikuyu and imprisoned them in concentration camps, and drove over a million Kenyans into “fortified villages”[1]
Kenyans detained in British prison camps during the Mau Mau revolt
The Mau Mau retreated to Mount Kenya as the British managed to overpower the rebellion and regain their authority in Kenya by the end of the 1950s, but at the cost of over 11,000 Mau Mau lives, 1,900 natives who had been supportive of their colonizers, and 95 Europeans.  Kenyatta had stated, perhaps to distance himself from the ideals of the Mau Mau (since he had adamantly claimed that he was not associated with them), “We do not want to oust the Europeans from this country. But what we demand is to be treated like the white races. If we are to live here in peace and happiness, racial discrimination must be abolished."[2]
Kenyatta believed that Kenya’s issue was not the presence of the Europeans, but the racial discrimination that they established, and this fueled his desire for independence (unlike the Mau Mau, which focused on eradicating the Europeans from Kenya).  Additionally, Kenyatta disapproved of the European manipulation of Kenyans, which included Kenyan serfdom, stating, “The African is conditioned, by cultural and social institutions of centuries, to a freedom of which Europe has little conception, and it is not in his nature to accept serfdom for ever."[3]  Kenyatta implies that change must come because Africans should not accept the oppression that has befallen them.

The passionate rebelling of the black community of Kenya led Britain to ultimately realize that it was impractical and essentially impossible for the white minority to maintain their iron grip on Kenya’s government and to solely administrate the country’s affairs.  Therefore, in 1960, Africans were permitted to compose the majority of their Legislative Council.  Consequently, two political parties were formed.  The Kenya African Nation Union (KANU) was mostly comprised of Kikuyu and members of the Luo party, which were Kenya’s two most influential ethnic groups, and thus the mingling of these different groups within the union produced a “political coalition”(Davis, Kenya, post-independence) .  The Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), was represented by more minority ethnic groups.  Jomo Kenyatta was released from his imprisonment with the help of KANU leaders, and he would later lead the KANU party to dominate Kenya’s political affairs as Kenya became a republic in 1964. 











[1] Quinn, Edward. "Mau Mau uprising in literature." History in Literature: A Reader's Guide to 20th Century History and the Literature it Inspired. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. <http://www.fofweb.com>.  Accessed May 26, 2013.
[2] Lamb, David.  The Africans.  New York: Vintage, 1985. 
[3] Kenyatta, Jomo.  Facing Mount Kenya, 1938.  (Published by Vintage; Vintage Books ed edition, 1962)

Jomo Kenyatta's Rally for Independence


In an impassioned, assertive speech, Kenyatta, as the KAU president, outlines the principles upon which Kenya should be built.  When Kenyatta had delivered “We Want Self-Government” in 1952, he had already been released from his imprisonment following the Mau Mau rebellion and had become the leader of the KAU party.  In a somewhat predictable attempt to gain followers (and therefore diminish any skepticism and opposition against the KAU), Kenyatta proclaims that his party is vital to the success of Africans in Kenya.  He promises democracy at a small price: unification and support of the KAU.  This statement faintly reveals Kenyatta’s benign authoritarianism and suggests the presence of what Otto von Bismarck called Realpolitik, which emphasized power-based politics and practicality over supposed ethics. 
Kenyatta’s connection between the KAU and democracy prompt his explanation of the democratic reforms he promises, stating, “True democracy has no color distinction. It does not choose between black and white. We are here in this tremendous gathering under the K.A.U. flag to find which road leads us from darkness into democracy.”[1]  This line was probably intended to touch a sensitive nerve within the Kenyans who had been racially oppressed for years by Europeans before their independence.  He states that the first principle of democracy is the ability of Africans to elect their own representatives, and perhaps attempts to ignite a flame of anger and desire for redemption in his listeners by stating, “We are the only race in Kenya which does not elect its own representatives in the Legislature, and we are going to set about to rectify this situation. We feel we are dominated by a handful of others who refuse to be just. God said this is our land.”[2] 
Kenyatta emphasizes justice and equality by asserting that achieving equal pay for work is necessary for Kenya’s prosperity: “Whether it is a chief, headman or laborer he needs in these days increased salary. He needs a salary that compares with a salary of a European who does equal work. We will never get our freedom unless we succeed in this issue. We do not want equal pay for equal work tomorrow—we want it right now…It has never been known in history that a country prospers without equality.”[3]  Kenyatta’s juxtaposition of his goals and his anger at the British (which therefore is intended to incite his audience) is evident throughout the speech.  For example, after his lecture on equality, he calls the Europeans “fools” and says, “Those people are wrecking our chances of advancement. They will prevent us getting freedom,” yet he assures the audience that the KAU does not approve of violence and weapon use, comparable to Gandhi’s principles.[4]  The Kenyans had a word to summarize Kenyatta’s method of winning independence: Harambee, which means “coming together”[5].  Perhaps Kenyatta’s most significant statement is his mentioning of Harambee; it is his simple proposal of how he plans to win independence from Kenya’s colonizers: “If we work together as one, we must succeed.”[6]
















[1] Kenyatta, Jomo. "'We Want Self-Government'." Kenyatta, Jomo. "The Kenya African Union Is Not the Mau Mau." In Sessional Paper No. 5, The Origins and Growth of Mau Mau, 1959–1960, edited by F. D. Corfield. Nairobi: Government Printing Office, 1960. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. <http://www.fofweb.com>.  Accessed May 10, 2013.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Davis, R. Hunt, ed. "Kenya, post-independence." Encyclopedia of African History and Culture: Independent Africa (1960 to Present), vol. 5. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com
[6] Kenyatta, Jomo. "'We Want Self-Government'."

Post Independence Regimes


Jomo Kenyatta
Kenyatta became the president of a Kenyan republic.  KADU, the opposing political party to KANU, was integrated into KANU, therefore creating a single Kenyan party.  Kenyatta emphasized the need for Kenya’s development and modernization, which was very important in order for the country to have a chance of success without Britain’s guidance and support.  In an independence day speech to his people, he stated, “You and I must work together to develop our country, to get education for our children, to have doctors, to build roads, to improve or provide all day-to-day essentials."[1]
However, despite the fact that he had previously been a popular martyr after being imprisoned during the Mau Mau rebellion, Kenyatta was viewed at a much different and more negative angle as he established new policies.  Eventually, the culmination of various KANU acts led to the Luo’s suspicion of a Kikuyu conspiracy, since Kenyatta was a member of the Kikuyu.  One of these acts included Kenyatta’s founding of a “Kenyanization” policy in which he bought formerly Kenyan lands back from European settlers and redistributed it mostly among Kikuyu, “creating a Kikuyu hegemony in both politics and economics.”  Ironically, the favoring of his own tribe contradicted his emphasis on unity and nationalism.  He stated, “Where there has been racial hatred, it must be ended. Where there has been tribal animosity, it will be finished. Let us not dwell upon the bitterness of the past. I would rather look to the future, to the good new Kenya, not to the bad old days. If we can create this sense of national direction and identity, we shall have gone a long way to solving our economic problems."[2]  The Luo Vice President Oginga Odinga believed that Kenyatta was ignoring the needs of Kenya’s poor, and thus formed the Kenya People’s Union (KPU).  Kenyatta, through “legislative manipulation”, ensured that the KPU remained “politically ineffective”[3].  In 1969, the Luo and KANU co-founder Tom Mboya was assassinated, the KPU was formally banned, and several KPU officials, including Odinga, were imprisoned.  When Kenyatta provided wealthy Kikuyu with substantial amounts of land in 1971, the Luo were certain that “ethnic favoritism” was responsible for the government’s actions.[4]  As criticism against his government increased, and after a Coup d'État, or overthrow of the government, was attempted, Kenyatta became more autocratic.  He managed to serve three terms before his death in 1978. 
            Kenyatta’s successor was Daniel arap Moi, from the Kalenjin ethnic group.  Moi worsened Kenyatta’s traces of autocracy and attempted to eradicate essentially all traces of Kenyan democracy.  He proclaimed that the KANU was Kenya’s only legal political party, and “centralized all power in the presidency” by “using censorship and imprisonment”[5].  Similarly to Kenyatta, Moi favored his own ethnic group, which angered the Kikuyu and Luo and sparked a Luo attempt to oust the president, which failed; Moi was reelected the next year.  Moi continually strengthened his grip on the country as opposition to his government increased.  Riots flared in response to his reelection in 1988, prompting Moi to amend the constitution “to further increase his essentially dictatorial powers”.[6]
Daniel arap Moi
            Moi’s totalitarian rule provoked Odinga to establish the popular Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD), while various “sources of international Economic Assistance withdrew their support in protest against Moi's authoritarianism”.[7]  In the face of fiery opposition, Moi permitted multiparty elections in 1992, but strategically blamed concurrent deadly ethnic clashes on the multiparty system that he had allowed.  He was reelected yet again, proving FORD to be essentially helpless.  Further protests ensued following his reelection in 1997.  His final term was characterized by volatile unrest and a 1998 bombing in Nairobi that destroyed the U.S. Embassy.  In 2002 he was compelled to step down from presidency as a result of term limits in the constitution.  The National Rainbow Coalition was formed when the ethnically based parties untied to triumph over Uhuru Kenyatta, (the son of Jomo Kenyatta) Moi’s successor.  The new president was Mwai Kibaki, who “finally ended KANU's stranglehold on Kenyan politics.”  Kibaki established a government that had the potential to move Kenya toward a more democratic and steady future. 



[1] Ungar, Sanford J.  Africa, the People and Politics of an Emerging Continent.  New York: Touchstone Books, 1985. (3 Rev Sub edition, 1989)
[2] Lamb, David.  The Africans.  New York: Vintage, 1985. 
[3] Davis, “Kenya, post-independence.”
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.