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.
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)
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.
[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
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 aCoup 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.
