The Mau Mau Uprising: Kenya’s Quest for Freedom and the Contentious Legacy of Jomo Kenyatta

The Mau Mau Uprising (1952-1960), or Mau Mau Rebellion, was a terribly dark period in Kenya’s history. Though controversial, it is widely regarded as one of the most prominent moves in Kenya’s quest for freedom from British rule.

Between 1945 and 1952, there had been diplomatic efforts by nationalists of the Kenya African Union (KAU) to seek land reforms and political rights. Frustrated by the futility of the larger KAU efforts, a sect decided to take on a more radical approach. Thus, the Mau Mau fighters emerged. They were ruthless and soon enough, the British government retaliated even more ruthlessly.

Mau Mau fighters comprised people from Kikuyu (predominantly), Embu and Meru ethnic groups as they were most affected by the white settlement in Kenya at the time. By the time the rebellion started, the British had seized about 7 million acres of land for white settlers. The white occupation of those lands was so great that the area was later referred to as the “White Highlands”.

The British had also forced several Kenyans into wage labour on the farmlands, where they were subjected to grossly unfavourable colonial labour laws. In a bid for justice, the Mau Mau fighters attacked political opponents, raided white settler farms and maimed their livestock, earning them a ban by the British authorities in 1950. Mau Mau fighters as well as some women and children of the involved tribes took ritual oaths that bound them to their cause.

The turning point for the British was when Mau Mau assassinated Senior Chief Waruhiu, a strong supporter of the British in Kenya in October 1952. Shortly after, the governor, Sir Evelyn Baring, declared a state of emergency.

The government started by arresting some 180 suspected Mau Mau leaders within Nairobi in what was called ‘Operation Jock Scott’. The suspects included Jomo Kenyatta, Bildad Kaggia, Kung’u Karumba, Fred Kunai, Paul Ngei and Achieng’ Oneko – nationalists who would later be known as the Kapenguria Six as they were tried at Kapenguria town between 1952-53.

However, this did not deter Mau Mau attacks, so the British took on more brute efforts. They deployed some British troops and the African Home Guard which comprised some loyalist Kenyans and troops brought in from other East African countries. The British established a ‘divide and rule’ strategy by using these Kenyans, some of whom were pro-British Kikuyu, to fight against their countrymen. The African Home Guard would plunder property of Mau Mau families and even resettle the Kikuyu away from towns into enclosed villages, where they could keep watch over them.

Since the British forces were raining down heavily on Mau Mau in the cities, many of them had no choice but to move to the forests and plan tactical attacks from there. The British responded to this by deploying air attacks, dropping almost 6 million bombs.

The Mau Mau fighters actually preferred to refer to themselves as the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA). Some members believed the British preferred to call them “Mau Mau” in order to undermine their international legitimacy. The British painted them in the international scene as savages, not minding that many of the Mau Mau fighters were professionals in their own right.

Mau Mau fighters, when compared to the African Home Guard, were relatively well-educated and strategic with their attacks. One of such strategic attacks was the Lari Massacre where the Mau Mau killed 70 of the loyalist Lari people in a village at night. Subsequently, the British spread propaganda which fuelled further killing of 400 Mau Mau.

Even though the Mau Mau were ruthless, the official number of Mau Mau killed was a staggering 11,000 compared to the mere 100 Europeans killed during the eight-year period. Even on the side of the British, it was the Africans’ lives that were dispensable, as about 2,000 African loyalists were reportedly killed.

However, according to the Kenya Human Rights Commission, there were far more casualties; 90,000 Kenyans were killed, tortured or maimed while 160,000 Kenyans faced detention where they endured sexual assault, malnutrition, beatings, castration, etc. They were tortured until they renounced the ‘Mau Mau oaths’. Additionally, many detainees were subjected to forced labour on government projects. The poor sanitary conditions of detention centres led to the rampant spread of diseases such as typhoid.

Trials were held for some of the detained leaders, but they weren’t fair as the judge was bribed and witnesses induced to give false testimonies. During that period, more crimes were regarded as capital offences than usual, including consorting with Mau Mau, and so several people were hung for the slightest of offences. Other suspected supporters of Mau Mau were subjected to fines, punishments, and confiscation of land and property.

Till today, the British have refused to fully come to terms with the heinous crimes they committed against the Mau Mau during the rebellion. The Mau Mau are now celebrated as freedom fighters in Kenya. However, this was not always the case as post-colonial Kenya denied the nobleness of their intent and execution; it wasn’t until 2003 that the Kenyan government lifted the ban on the Mau Mau.

In spite of the massive opposition the Mau Mau faced both from the British and Kenyans, the rebellion inarguably catalysed Kenya’s independence movement. Moreso, Jomo Kenyatta became the first president of an independent Kenya in 1964, 3 years after he was released from prison.

However, many have scrutinised the nature of Kenyatta’s involvement in the Mau Mau uprising. Kenyatta was notably a conservative and advocate of non-violence, so he denied his affiliation with the violent Mau Mau sect and pleaded innocent in the Kapenguria trial. Months before his arrest, he even publicly incited violence against them, saying, ‘Mau Mau has spoiled the country. Let Mau Mau perish forever. All people should search for Mau Mau and kill it.’

On 12 December 1964, Kenyatta issued an amnesty to Mau Mau fighters to surrender to his government, but some members insisted that they were entitled to land and should be absorbed into the civil service and army. The following month, the Kenyan army killed several Mau Mau in the Meru district. It would be ignorant to assume that Kenyatta was innocent in this as he repeatedly showed a disdain for the Mau Mau over the years. He was at worst, an instigator against the Mau Mau and at best, complicit in their killings.

Throughout Kenyatta’s presidency, the Mau Mau remained a vilified group, rather than being recognised as a group of people who were rightfully fed up of being oppressed by the British and fought for their rights to their land. It appeared that Jommo Kenyatta, the widely acclaimed symbol of African nationalism only had grace for freedom fights that were within the confines of his own beliefs.