As we reflect on the achievement of sixty years of independence and the heroes and heroines on whose shoulders we stand, we must be cognisant of the full struggle for recognition and independence. The nation of Kenya was birthed administratively from the Kenya Colony which was established in 1920. In turn, this was a product of the East Africa Protectorate which stretched from the coast to the border with modern-day Uganda. This territory was established in 1895 and in essence marks the beginning of our true fight for independence.
The road to emancipation began with that first shackling. In 1893, there was resistance shown by the armies of Waiyaki wa Hinga, whom the British feared enough to have him removed from Central Kenya after being captured and transported to Kibwezi where he was assassinated and left in an unmarked grave. With each step of expansion came bold resistance from leaders who were unafraid. There was Koitalel arap Samoei, the Nandi Orkoiyot (leader) who was ambushed and killed during peace talks in 1905. The talks were held at the culmination of almost a decade and a half of protracted armed conflict between the Nandi and the British as they sought to move across into the interior. Koitalel’s assassination turned out to be the move that ended the Nandi resistance. Similarly, the Abagusii had been fighting their own fight to protect their lands as imperial control was forced upon them with cattle and lands being confiscated. That conflict drew to a close when the bold Otenyo Nyamaterere was captured in 1908 after doing the unthinkable – spearing a British DC. He too met a cruel death when he was executed by firing squad.
At the coast were the rumblings of dissatisfaction amongst the Giriama, whom had initially been welcoming but then had their sacred kayas looted by the invading forces. The most notable of the Giriama uprisings took place in 1913 led by the fearless Mekatilili wa Menza whose wisdom could foresee the aspiration of the British. Mekatilili and her ability to amass a following proved too scary for the imperial administration and when she was captured, she was taken as far away as possible from her home – all the way to Kisii. But the indomitable lady found her way back home after escaping prison in 1914 and trekking across the lands always heading east. For her efforts she was imprisoned once again and sent to Kismayu in Somaliland.
It seemed that resistance was everywhere the colonial stamp touched. In 1920 the hut tax was raised, which meant hundreds of thousands more people were forced into wage labour to raise money needed to remit payments to the colonial government. Women in particular were forced to move from farming their own lands to pursue wage work. Things came to a head in 1922 when the largest riot ever witnessed in Nairobi took place. Over 8,000 people – mainly women – protested the arrest of Harry Thuku who had become a voice of hope against women’s enforced labour. The thousands who thronged the police station next to the Norfolk demanded the release of Thuku and many paid for their boldness with their lives as they were gunned down for demanding their rights. The issues of labour and freedom continued to be a rallying call where people of different ethnicities and experiences could come together. In 1935, Makhan Singh and hundreds of others gathered under the banner of the interracial Labour Trade Union of Kenya, giving birth to a collective movement that was a deep threat to the colonial government. For his actions Singh was jailed in 1943 for two years and again in 1950 for the subsequent decade. By the time the 50s began resistance was widespread, armed and collective. The strength of which was enough to plunge the country into a state of emergency for most of the decade.
The fight against colonisation was seeded more than seventy years before the birth of Kenya as a country. As we look back to where our freedom fighters began, we must remember not to be too short on our history or its protagonists, for in doing so, we sweep away the sacrifice of so many who gave us our freedom. This Jamhuri week we hope you feel inspired to go back as far as you can in time to pay homage to the fight for freedom.
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