 THE
EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN EAST AFRICAN NATIONS 1900 - 1963
The Mau
- Mau Uprising 1954
Mau-Mau was an underground political movement (uprising) organized by the people
of Kenya against colonial rule from 1951-60 under leaders such as Jomo Kenyata,
Dedan Kimathi, Waruhiu Itote popularly known as General China and Tom Mboya
etc. The movement
was precipitated by the returning African soldiers after the Second World War
who were politically aware. It was an attempt by the Africans to change the system
of economic and social injustice which had become a marked feature in Kenya. They
were all directed towards achieving their independence. The
Mau-Mau uprising presents an example of African efforts to fight for their rights
after realizing that were oppressed in their own country. It is also an indication
that Africans were politically aware and determined to shape their destiny. ObjectivesAt
the end of the topic students should be able to: - Explain
the background of the Mau-Mau up rising
- Explain
the causes of the uprising
- Describe
the course or stages of the uprising
- State
reasons why the rising took long to end (1951-1960)
- Explain
why the uprising was suppressed
- Explain
government measures to contain the uprising
- State
the effects of the uprising
Key
concepts to emphasize by the teacherThe
teacher should have advance knowledge on the following: - Other
rebellions
- The
second world war
- Where
the rising took place
- The
leaders of the rising
- Why
their was that rising
- Other
current uprisings
Teaching
and learning aids/materials Photographs
of the Mau-Mau leaders (Were and Wilson pg 189-191)
A Sketch map of Kenya
showing the area where Mau Mau was carried out. Teacher’s
Guide
Additional notes and textbooks like - Were
and Wilson East Africa through a thousand years,
- Odhiambo
A history of East Africa and
- The
Trial of Dedan Kimathi etc
Guiding
questions 1a)
What were the causes of the Mau-Mau uprising in Kenya in 1954.
b)
Why was it difficult to suppress by the Europeans? 2a)
Describe the course of the Mau-Mau uprising b)
Explain why the uprising was later suppressed by the Europeans. 3
a) What were the measures taken by government to suppress the uprising.
b) Outline the
effects of the uprising. THE
MAU-MAU REBELLION 1951 - 60 This
was a Kenyan underground political movement that aimed at saving Kenya from British
colonial rule. Mau-Mau is an abbreviation which stands for “Mzungu
Arudi Ulaya, Mwafirika Apate Uhuru” ( meaning
let the white man go back to Europe and the Africans regain Independence) It
was a rebellion organized by the people of Kenya against colonial administration
from 1951-60 under leaders such as Jomo Kenyatta, Dedan Kimathi, Waruhiu Itote
popularly known as General China.
Mau Mau was an underground movement comprising of extreme African Nationalists
with in the newly formed Kenya African Union and the second world war ex-service
men. The movement was originally dominated by the Kikuyu but were later joined
by other tribes. Ritual
oathing was a crucial component of Mau Mau participation, as they called on the
old God - Ngai - to witness the oath that people would swear to be united in their
fight against the colonial enemy, and would take back the land that the white
man had stolen. Jacob Njangi, a former fighter, explained:
"We
used to drink the oath. We swore we would not let white men rule us forever. We
would fight them even down to our last man, so that man could live in freedom."
 The
oaths were a cultural symbol of the solidarity that bound Kikuyu men, women and
children together in their opposition to the colonial government. But they were
also feared, as the taboos that traditionally surrounded the breaking of oaths
were still very much current. Those who took the Mau Mau oaths were taught that
their violation would be instantly lethal, and in practise it was indeed so: not
because of the wrath of Ngai, but because of bloody reprisals by the Mau Mau themselves,
for whom refusing to take the oath was the same as siding with the colonial regime.
Nonetheless, the British were scared by the oath, for they knew full well
that for the Kikuyu (or any other Kenyan, in fact), an oath was a deadly serious
matter, and could never be broken. As a result, the British made taking the Mau
Mau oath a capital offence. Between 1953 and 1956 more than 1,000 Africans were
publicly hanged for alleged Mau Mau crimes - in Britain, public hangings had been
outlawed for over a century. The
British also screened Mau Mau suspects and forced them to take a 'cleansing
oath', a strange instance of colonialism 'gone native'. Concocted
by the anthropologist Louis Leakey and rich Kikuyu landowners who stood to lose
their British-granted privileges if independence came to be, the Kikuyu were to
swear upon githathi (sacred stones) for a reversal of
the Mau Mau oath. Many,
of course, refused, so alternative means had to be found to 'convince' people
to abandon their oaths. John Nottingham, a district officer in the colonial service
from 1952 to 1961, explains, "The way that it worked out was that if you
beat them up enough then they would confess an oath. So what you do is beat them
up and then you give them a bit of paper and a piece of blunt pencil and say,
'Confess! I took it! I took it! I took it!' You are now a human being
again."
Ironically, this was probably the first time
that any of the suspects had ever been called 'human beings' by the wazungu. The
Mau Mau operation was guided by Oath. The fighters bound their core membership
with a sacred oath of secrecy. Violation of the oath meant an automatic death
to the offender. The blacks aimed at sending away the whites and achieving their
independence. They were so committed to this fundamental cause that each member
took the traditional oath. To this oath, one was obliged to shed his or her blood
for the sake of others and above all the future prosperity of all. THE
MAU-MAU REBELLION 1951 - 60This
was a Kenyan underground political movement that aimed at saving Kenya from British
colonial rule. Mau-Mau is an abbreviation which stands for “Mzungu
Arudi Ulaya, Mwafirika Apate Uhuru” ( meaning
let the white man go back to Europe and the Africans regain Independence) It
was a rebellion organized by the people of Kenya against colonial administration
from 1951-60 under leaders such as Jomo Kenyatta, Dedan Kimathi, Waruhiu Itote
popularly known as General China.
Mau Mau was an underground movement comprising of extreme African Nationalists
with in the newly formed Kenya African Union and the second world war ex-service
men. The movement was originally dominated by the Kikuyu but were later joined
by other tribes. The Mau Mau operation was guided by Oath. The fighters bound
their core membership with a sacred oath of secrecy. Violation of the oath meant
an automatic death to the offender. The blacks aimed at sending away the whites
and achieving their independence. They were so committed to this fundamental cause
that each member took the traditional oath. To this oath, one was obliged to shed
his or her blood for the sake of others and above all the future prosperity of
all. CAUSES
OF THE MAU-MAU REBELLION - It
was due to unemployment of the ex-soldiers who had been promised jobs after the
World War II, but instead were made porters on European-estates. Similarly, people
were retrenched, traders pushed out to business by Asian retail trade monopoly
and European settlers. Therefore by 1952 the young energetic African went to the
forests of Abadare and Mountain Kenya Rift Valley and waged a violent offensive
against the British hoping for a change.
- Africans
wanted their land especially the Kikuyu who had been displaced from the fertile
Kenya highlands. The European had used the support of the colonial government
to take away land including the ancestral land to which they attached great value.
Many were pushed into reserves and camps were they suffered from congestion, starvation
and diseases like typhoid, cholera.
- It
was a reaction against the Kipande system. This was a method of identity cards
imposed on Africans to restrict them from unnecessary movements. The kipande system
required moving with a ‘PASS’ which was
big a metallic card carried in the neck of the African.
- The
introduction of racial discrimination in Kenya. This was discrimination according
to colour. The Europeans equated the black colour with low intelligence, uncivilized,
barbaric and a backward race. All the best hotels, restaurants, schools, recreational
centres and most fertile soils in Kenya were reserved for the whites only.
- Africans
were fed up of heavy and harsh taxation by the Europeans. Failure to pay tax was
punishable by taking away the land or even imprisonment. So the Africans were
forced to go and work under harsh condition and for long hours, yet poorly paid.
This forced them to join the uprising.
- The
dominance of the economy by the Asian and white settlers. The Africans were not
allowed to take part in meaningful business, were not given positive consideration
in awarding jobs. The whites upheld the view that blacks were only fit to work
as Shamba boys on the colonial farms or maids in the European and Asian homes.
To this end, the Africans revolted so as to change the situation for the better.
- They
also wanted to be exposed to the social services e.g. education. The white settlers
feared the educated Africans for losing their white color jobs in the government
as well as losing unskilled African labour on their farms. In this respect they
discouraged African education. In so doing, they worked to frustrate the African
efforts to set up schools even the few educated Africans were not employed in
the civil service. So these unemployed Africans fought for the preservation of
their right as an educated class.
- Africans
feared a gradual destruction of their culture by the whites e.g. the missionaries
were totally against the circumcision of women among the Kikuyu and the traditional
view of twins.
- Africans
wanted a fair share in the administration of their country (Parliament). For a
long time many Kenyans were excluded from decision making and political participation
the whites and Asians in the Legislative Council did not represent their interests.
- The return
of Jomo Kenyatta in the 1950s’ after his studies in Europe, he came back
with a wider vision in politics after participating in various conferences(Manchester
conference of 1945) therefore this made enabled him convince the Kenyans about
their rights and they therefore united and rebelled.
- The
role of educated Kenyans ;this group of people by nature of their education became
aware of their rights as citizens of Kenya and it is along that they started campaigns
of educating the people about their place in society. This prompted them to rebel
against the whites.
- The
colonial policy discouraged Africans from growing cash crops like coffee, tea,
cotton, pyrethrum for fear of competition with the Africans. They feared that
they would grow rich and challenge the colonial administration. This led to too
much poverty so they joined the rebellion hoping to find a solution.
- Forced labour
on white man’s plantations led to Mau Mau: Africans were obliged by colonial
law to offer labour on the plantation this was to be done forcefully with out
offering any payments. This kind of new slavery inspired the occurrence of the
Mau Mau rebellion as the first violent revolt against the British after World
War II.
- Influence
of the Second World War many Kenyans who participated in this war discovered
the weakness of the white man and the loopholes in their systems of administration.
These included General China, Didan Kimathi among others. These people had acquired
good military skills, enjoyed high standards of living, realized that some Africans
were braver then some whites. These joined together with the unemployed Kenyans
with a hope of gaining their Independence.
Job related life skills
- Communication: ability to read, write,listen and speak using appropriate language.
- Team work: ability to cooperate and share tasks with colleagues.
- Personal attributes : creativity, enthusiasm, reflective thinking, self awareness
- Information skills : ability to identify information needs,observe and collect evidence and present findings appropriately
- Application of number: - numeracy (as they compare crop yields in treated and untreated plots)
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