European Imperialism in East Africa

 EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM IN EAST AFRICA

Introduction

In this unit you will discuss European Imperialism in East Africa with specific attention on the Scramble and Partition of East Africa and its causes. In addition you will explore the effects of the scrabble and partition on East Africa in general.

The Scramble and Partition of East Africa

Scramble and partition of East Africa refers to the time when East African countries were rushed for by the European powers in the name of gaining territories/colonies.

After 1880, there was a great desire for colonies in Africa and by 1914 all African countries except Ethiopia and Liberia had been colonized
The major powers that had interest in the scramble and partition of East Africa were:

• Britain.
  
• Germany.
  
• France.
  
• Belgium and
  
• Italy.
  

Scramble and partition of East Africa was first done on paper and later practically on ground.

Main content and concepts to emphasise:

1. Causes of scramble and partition of East Africa.
   
2. Effects of the scramble and partition of East Africa.
   

Objectives
By the end of this topic, the learners will be able to;

1. Explain the meaning of partition and scramble.
   
2. Give the causes for the scramble and partition of East Africa.
   
3. Discuss the effect of the scramble and Partition of Eat Africa.

Teaching / learning materials:

1. Text books
   
2. News papers
   
3. Map of east Africa showing the region referred to as East Africa.
   
4. Map showing European countries that participated in the scramble and partition of East Africa.
   
5. Photographs of some of the colonial leaders in east Africa.
   

Methodology

1. Discussion with learners in class
   
2. Group work
   
3. Research
   
4. Discovery
   
5. Dramatisation

LEARNER'S ACTIVITIES

Activity one
Arrange a class debate on the effects of scramble and partition of East Africa. For example you could have the following motion;
“The Scramble and Partition of east Africa did more harm than good to the East African People”

Activity two

Arrange a short play in class on the causes of the scramble and partition of East Africa.

Job Related Life skills :

By the end of this topic, learners are expected acquire the following Job Mark related Skills.

• Personal attributes – self confidence, time management, creativity/imaginative, recording skills, enthusiasm, imagination and self awareness.
  
• Communication – observation and listening skills, speaking.
  
• Team work – task oriented, leadership skills,group work.
  
• Problem solving - information seeking
  
   Causes of Scramble and partition of East Africa
  
  The main causes of the scramble and partition of East Africa were Economic, Social, Humanitarian, Prestigious, Strategic, and political as follows:
  The Europeans wanted to spread their western civilization and this was the western culture.  This included the way of dressing, religion, education and administration since Africa was previously referred to as ‘The Dark Continent’.
  They wanted to spread Christianity in East Africa so as to check on the spread of Islam by Arabs. 
  By the end of the 19th century there was an industrial revolution in Europe and therefore the Europeans were looking for raw-materials to feed their industries e.g. Cotton, coffee, Minerals like Gold, Copper, Diamond, Tin etc and animal products like ivory, hides and Skins.
  The Europeans also wanted to obtain market for their manufactured goods like clothes, Guns, Beads, Glass Ware etc.
  They wanted to invest their surplus capital in East Africa for high profits.  They invested their capital in mining and farming.
  The Europeans were overpopulated and therefore wanted to get new areas in East Africa where they could resettle their surplus population.
  They were also interested in East Africa to get territories for prestigious purposes because the more territories a European power had, the more it would be considered powerful e.g. France.
  Unemployment in Europe prompted the scramble and partition of East Africa.  Machines replaced human labour thus creating unemployment.  There was a need to acquire colonies where their people could be employed.
  The rise of nationalism in Europe caused scramble and partition of East Africa.  European countries developed national pride in superiority over others.  Therefore possession of colonies became a symbol of superiority. For example Germany and Italy were moved by that influence. 
  Strategic reasons also led to the scramble and partition of East Africa.  Following the construction of the Suez Canal, Britain realised that Egypt could not survive on its own without the Nile; she therefore colonized Sudan and Uganda.
  Europeans wanted to pursue their humanitarian motive of stopping slave trade in East Africa, Which was considered an inhuman act.
  Some East African tribes were hostile to the early Europeans for example explorers, missionaries and traders. They therefore wanted to protect them in East Africa by taking full control.

The Effects of Scramble and Partition in East Africa

East Africa was divided among the European powers i.e. Britain and Germany.  The British took up Uganda and Kenya which was the northern part of East Africa and Germany took Tanganyika which was the southern part of East Africa.  The effects include the following:

The East African states lost their independence and were subjected to European rule and administration e.g. Kenya and Uganda in were in the hands of the British while Tanzania was controlled by the Germans. 

Many African chiefs or kings were killed or sent into exile because of the scramble and partition in East Africa for example Kabalega and Mwanga were exiled while chief Mkwawa of the Hehe was beheaded for resisting German colonial rule in Tanganyika.

They established new systems of administration i.e. indirect rule by the British and direct rule by the Germans.
The Africans were regarded as an inferior group and were forced to provide labour for European plantations and other public works.

There was an increase of Europeans in East Africa for example many of them settled in the Kenya highlands. Thus Africans lost their land and were put into reserve camps e.g. the Masai.

After the partition, new boundaries were drawn and defined in East Africa without respect of the tribes which led to disunity of Africans.

Slave trade was completely wiped out and replaced with legitimate trade in East Africa.
Scramble and partition accelerated the construction and development of infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, roads and bridges. 

There was maximum exploitation of resources in East Africa like Ivory, Minerals like Gold, Copper, and Cash crops like Cotton, Coffee, and Sisal etc.

Agriculture was promoted and developed and some of the cash crops which were introduced like cotton and sisal became the export base of East Africa.  They also introduced new methods of farming.

They developed legitimate trade, which enabled them to get raw materials for their industries and they sold their products to East Africans.

They promoted the western culture in East Africa for example the way of dressing, religion, building, eating habits etc.

They undermined African cultures who took up the western culture and goods.  Africans therefore developed an inferiority complex as their traditional customs were despised and they took up the European culture as their way of life.

Taxes were introduced to be paid in form of money for example hut tax and gun tax, which encouraged the use of money.

Western formal education was introduced which replaced informal African education.

Administrative centres/posts were built in East Africa for example in Kampala, Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam.

Christianity was introduced and spread in East Africa whereby many people were converted from Islam to Christianity.  Various churches were also constructed in East Africa.

Methods used to establish colonial rule in East Africa.

After the partition and scramble for East Africa, the British and Germans used various methods in East Africa.  However, these methods varied from place to place and from time to time as follows:

The European colonialists used Christian missionaries who paved the   way for colonisation by preaching the message of love and brotherhood which convinced the African that it was a sin to fight against the Europeans.

The signing of treaties and agreements with African chiefs was another method used by Europeans to colonise East Africa for example the 1900 Buganda agreement, the Masai agreement of 1804, and several other agreements.  These assisted the British to establish their rule.

They used African collaborators and opportunists to conquer and annex areas that were resistant to colonialists’ rule for example Apollo Kagwa and Semei Kakungulu.

 The use of explorers or adventurers for example Speke and Stanley who gave exaggerated reports to their home governments based on lakes, minerals climate and mountains, which later attracted colonialists.

Colonialists used the method of divide and rule for example by introducing different religions such as Catholics, Protestants and Moslems etc.  This created disunity against the enemy.

The European colonialists also used the European settlers for example in the Kenya highlands.  These settlers introduced agriculture, which generated funds for their colonial governments.

They built communication lines for example the Uganda Railway which facilitated the movement of the British troops from the coast to the interior.  These were later used to put down rebellions.

They used bribery to make the chiefs and kings of East Africa convinced toward their colonial policies. 

The colonialists used the army of occupation to establish their rule in East Africa.  This was effective in the areas of Bunyoro where the British used the army of occupation.  In other words they used military confrontations for example Kabalega of Bunyoro was attacked by the army and the Germans attacked the Hehe.

They built administrative posts and forts for defensive purposes against African resistors.

They used chartered companies to establish colonial rule in East Africa for example IBEACO.

The European colonialists also used gifts to the African leaders like chiefs and kings to persuade their people to accept colonialism.

They used force to suppress resistance all of which maintained law and order.

External Contacts and Pressure

CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES IN EAST AFRICA

Introduction

Christian missions were organised efforts to spread the Christian faith for the purpose of extending religious teaching at home or abroad. Christian missionaries were among the early external people to get into contact with the people of East Africa. Their coming to East Africa and Africa in general was based on a number of motives which were humanitarian, economic, political and social in nature. They carried out a number of activities such as Agriculture, exploration, evangelism, etc. whose impact on the people of East Africa is still evident today.

By the 19th century, a number of missionary groups worked in East Africa and these included;

1. The Church Missionary Society
   
2. The Holy Ghost Fathers
   
3. The University Missionary Society to Central Africa
   
4. The White Fathers
   
5. The Methodist Fathers
   
6. The Mill Hill Fathers
   
7. The Verona Fathers
   
8. The Comboni Fathers
   
9. The London Missionary Society  
   

 The pioneer missionaries in East Africa were the Church Missionary Society led by the Germans John Krapt and Johann Rebmann who arrived in East Africa around 1844 and 1846 respectively. In 1863, the University Mission Society to Central Africa moved to Zanzibar where a mission was started from Re-union and later to Bagamoyo. Cardinal Lavigerie’s formation of the White Fathers Mission in Algeria (1863) extended to other parts of Africa.

In 1877,the Church Missionary Society mission arrived in Buganda while the white fathers arrived in 1879. In 1898, the Church of Scotland Mission arrived at Kikuyu, and in 1902, the Friends Missions arrived at Kaimosi.

The roles of these missionaries varied enormously depending on the colonial context and their relations with the colonial authorities.
 
The study about Christian Missionaries in East Africa is intended to help learners conceptualise the motives, activities, challenges which early missionaries faced as well as their impact on the people of East Africa.

 

Objectives of the study

By the end of the unit learners should be able to:

1. identify the different missionary groups in East Africa.
   
2. state reasons for the coming of missionaries to East Africa.
   
3. identify missionary activities in East Africa by the different groups.
   
4. state reasons why missionaries were successful in their work.
   
5. list the problems faced by the missionaries in East Africa.
   
6. explain the impact of missionary activities in East Africa.
   
7. explain the role of missionaries in the colonisation of East Africa.
   

Main Content and Concepts to emphasise

1. Reasons for coming of missionaries to East Africa
   
2. Missionary activities in East Africa
   
3. Effects of missionaries in East Africa
   

Job related life skills
Activity one
Ask the learners to visit their respective mission churches and do the following:
1.Find out the values emphasised by their church.

2.Explore the income generating activities run by the church.

3.Identify one of the activities mentioned above and explain how they would engage in such an activity to earn a living.

4.Explain the steps/procedures they would follow to carry out the activity shown above.

5.Discuss the challenges they are likely to face while carrying out the above activity.

Activities two

You may invite a resource person (religious leader) to talk to the S.2 class about;

1. Christian moral values

2. Economic activities done by church

3.General guidance and counseling to the learners

Activities three

Ask the learners to form groups and act out the following roles of Christian missionaries;

1. A religious leader preaching Christian moral values.
   
2. Girls to act out the of roles the Christian Association mothers union like keeping poultry, weaving baskets and mats, baking cakes, cookies among others.
   
3. Boys to act out the roles of the Christian Association fathers union like constructing houses, carpentry among others.
   

Questions to the learners

Ask the learners the following questions:

1. What values have you identified from the talk?
   
2. Which economic activities have you identified that this church engages in?
   
3. If you were given an opportunity, which economic activity would you start for a living?

Reasons for the coming of christian missionaries in East Africa

Missionaries came to East Africa for various reasons. These were economic, social, humanitarian and economic in nature as explained below; 

The missionaries had the ambition to spread Christianity to the people of East Africa. This would be through preaching and teaching the holy gospel so that many would get converted to Christianity.

They wanted to fight against slave trade in East Africa. Earlier travelers like John Speke and James Grant, H.M. Stanley, Dr. David Livingstone and others had reported about the evils of slave trade in East Africa. Christian missionaries therefore came with an intention to stop it and introduce legitimate trade.

Missionaries wanted settle the freed slaves in East Africa by setting up resettlement centers both in the interior and at the coast for example at Bagamoyo and Frere town near Mombasa.

They wanted to check on the spread of Islam in East Africa from the coast with intentions of converting many to Christianity.

Some missionaries came because they had been invited by certain African chiefs, For example, Muteesa I of Buganda wrote a letter through H.M Stanley   inviting missionaries to Buganda.

They came to establish legitimate trade in East Africa. They, for instance wanted to trade in items like glass, cloths, etc. as Dr. Livingstone told Cambridge University students, “I go back to Africa to make an open pass for commerce and Christianity…..” Similarly, his speech in 1857 emphasized the unity between Christianity and Commerce.  

 The missionaries also loved to adventure and explore the interior of East Africa. For example Dr. John Ludwig Kraft of CMS is said to have been the first European to see Mt. Kenya while Johann Redman was the first to see Mt. Kilimanjaro.

They had a mission to clear the way for the colonization of East Africa. The missionaries were tasked by their home governments to preach ideas of love, respect, brotherhood, forgiveness, tolerance and non violence so that when the colonialists come, they would meet less resistance from the East Africans.

It’s also argued that missionaries wanted to “civilize” East Africans. They argued that they came to stop some of the barbaric acts and customs e.g. Female Genital Mutilation among the Kikuyu in Kenya, human sacrifices and the practice of killing twins.

They had interest of reducing tribal conflicts in East Africa. E.g. conflicts between Buganda and Banyoro would be resolved with the coming of the Missionaries.

Early contacts by travelers like Stanley, Speke and Grant, among others encouraged missionaries to come. The information they gave about important places like the source of the Nile, fertile soils, river falls and the climate all attracted the missionaries into East Africa.

The expulsion of some of the missionaries from other parts of Africa led them into East Africa.  For example Johann Ludwig Kraft and Johann Redman are said to have been expelled from Ethiopia around 1842 before they chose to relocate to East Africa. 

Reasons for the success of missionary work in East Africa

The missionaries’ success was noted in the economic, political and social fields and these are discussed as follows:

• The evils of slave trade made East Africans welcome missionaries as liberators. Their campaign against slave trade won them much support from different tribes in East Africa.
  

• The support they got from some of the local chiefs and kings led to their success. For instance Muteesa I of Buganda and Mirambo of Nyamwezi all gave them protection as well as rights to do their work in their territories.
  
• The earlier explores helped to map out potential areas of East Africa for smooth missionary work. For instance, H.M Stanley had identified Buganda as a hospitable community for the missionaries and they were later welcomed by the Kabaka of Buganda in 1877.
  
• The support missionaries got from their home governments led them to success.  This was inform of finance and physical manpower for instance colonial governments  gave protection to the missionaries whenever they were challenged by local chiefs or other threats. For instance Captain Lugard supported the Protestants in the religious wars in Buganda.
  
• Some missionary groups sought for alliances with African chiefs. Such treaties of friendship made their work easy since the chiefs would call on their subjects to take on the missionary teachings.
  
• The missionaries’ efforts to translate the bible into several local languages helped them succeed for example Kraft translated the New Testament of the Bible into Swahili and wrote a Swahili dictionary and a Grammar book.
  
• The developments that missionaries found in societies like Buganda favored their work. For example, infrastructure around Buganda areas like Namirembe, Lubaga and Kampala in general made missionary work of putting up schools, hospitals and churches easy.
  
• The industrial revolution had provided such technology like the printing press which made printing of bibles and other academic work easy.
  
• Their efforts in life saving services like medical care (Quinine) won them great admiration among the people of East Africa that few were ready to oppose them.
  
• The missionaries’ practical skills enabled them to survive even when their supplies from home delayed. They for instance adopted agriculture as soon as they settled anywhere. This ensured steady supply of food.
  

• They employed locals as porters, interpreters, cooks or security guards hence winning the loyalty of many.
  
• The death of Dr. David Livingstone in 1873 and other earlier missionaries increased the determination by many groups to see missionary work succeed in Africa, and East Africa in particular. E.g. the London news paper wrote after his death, “the work for Africa must hence forth begin in earnest where Livingstone left it off.”
  
• Establishment of resettlement centers for freed slaves e.g. at Bagamoyo and Frere town near Mombasa where skills like carpentry, and agriculture were taught. Such communities thus looked at missionary work as “a life- saving mission
  
  

  Role of christian missionaries in the colonisation of East Africa

• Missionaries signed treaties which were later used by colonialists to take over colonies e.g. Tucker, a British Missionary interpreted the 1900 Buganda Agreement to the regents of Kabaka Daudi Chwa II. This led to loss of political, economic and social powers to the British protectorate government. Sir Harry John stone who signed on behalf of the British government confessed that;
• “I John stone shall be bound to acknowledge the assistance offered to me by the missionaries especially the CMS. Without their assistance on my side, I do not think Uganda’s chiefs would agree to the treaty which practically places their country and land in the British hands”.
  
• (From partition of Africa by Prof Sempebwa).
  
• Missionaries supplied information to the colonialists which they utilized to plan how to effectively impose their colonial rule on how to crash the African resistance. In the religious wars in Buganda, the British fought behind the Protestants. Colonel Saddler a British commander once said;
  
• “The CMS was the first in the field …. Its connection with the political history of early days, the difficulties, it successfully surpassed and the assistance it rendered to the colonial government at the time of the rebellion are too well known to need recapitulation. There has been complete accord between the colonial government and Christian missionaries and in no single instance has there been a friction of any kind. I would wish to thank them for willing fully placing at my disposal a fund of information they have regarding the country and its people”.
  
• In fact there was a reciprocal relationship between missionaries and the colonialists that is why missionaries laid the ground work before the partitioners offered missionaries protection for the success of their evangelization mission. It’s here that words Reverend Willis are partnent;
  
• “We as missionaries are indebted to the presence of the colonial government in this country and we would not forget when we reckon upon the triumph of the cross in Uganda. In how large a measure, these victories have been paved for us by others in the colonial government with its officers around us. We owe a peaceful country”.
  
• The Church missionary society managed to raise enough funds for Imperial British East African Company for its staying in Uganda for at least 2 or more years. The church missionary society and Captain Lugard viewed that the company’s withdraw would live the British and the protestant party in a dangerous position versus Moslems.
  
• Missionaries enhanced the growth of tropical raw materials like coffee, cotton to satisfy the British industrialists urge but disguising everything in Christianity. Bishop K. Boroup for example introduced cotton in Uganda.
  
• They appealed to their home governments for protection in case of attack. It is in this light that Britain came to Uganda during the religious wars of 1884-1892 and later occupied Uganda.
  
• They created a collaborating class by luring it religiously and materially. This class helped colonialists to fight resistors despite the fact that they were all Africans.    
  
• In their evangelization role, they brain washed Africans with biblical teachings as “love your neighbor as you love yourself”, “blessed are the humble for the kingdom of God is theirs”, etc. With these preaching’s they made potential resistance important.
  
• Religion was a mechanism of divide and rule. The converts and the non-converts hated each other which caused division to the advantage of the Europeans.       
  
• Collaboration with chattered companies, European Christian missionaries and their converts worked hand in hand with the Imperial British East African Company to defeat Kabalega’s resistance.
  
• Missionary stations served as military bases from where the European colonial forces launched attacks on the resisting Africans. African Lugard used old kampala hill as a military base against Kabalega.
  
• Mission stations served as colonial government headquarters. The established mission infrastructure was used to help in the establishment and sustenance of European colonial rule. 
  
• Colonialists lacked skilled manpower, so the missionaries by design or accident were very faithful servants of the colonial government i.e. they were Colonial government servants.
  
• They created a peaceful atmosphere for the germination of colonialism in areas of hostility. This is because they emphasized the centralized leadership where peace and obedience were expected.
  
• Missionaries also trained manpower through introduction of education which was used by colonialists. This was done through teaching those academic subjects and manual skills like use of a plough and how to grow coffee. 
  
• They acted as interpreters e.g. Tucker in the 1900 Buganda agreement. 
  

• Through conversion of the Buganda chiefs and pages before Buganda commoners it meant that each party i.e. the Church Missionary Society and France had gained converts. This was a political security of sympathy to the Christian missionaries as against the Kabaka in Buganda’s leadership. This indirectly undermined the Kabaka’s authority and respect i.e. his traditional power base was being eroded.
  

Activities of christian missionaries in East Africa

• Christian missionaries carried out a number of activities in East Africa. Their activities had various impacts on the social, political and economic conditions of East Africa. The following were the activities carried out by the Christian missionaries in East Africa.
• Missionaries carried out evangelization. Here they tried to convert and baptize many people into Christianity from their paganism and Islam.
  
• Christian missionaries carried out linguistic research and came up with new developments in language. Dr Kraft for example translated the Bible into Swahili and wrote a Swahili dictionary and grammar hence making it easy for people to understand the Bible more.
  
• The Christian missionaries built many churches in East Africa many of which are still in existence. They for example set up a church at Zanzibar, Rubaga and Rabai missionary station near Mombasa. .
  
• They carried out exploration work into the discovery of various East African physical features. For example, Kraft was the first European to see Mt. Kenya in 1849 while Rebman was the first to European see Kilimanjaro in 1848. 
  
• Christian missionaries set up stations for free rehabilitation services for example in 1868 the Holy Ghost Fathers set up a home for the free slaves at Zanzibar.
  
• Christian missionaries participated in opening up various mission stations. Such mission stations could help in enhancing evangelization into the local population. For example Rebman set up one at Rabai near Mombasa.
  
• Christian missionaries participated in skill development in East Africa. They for example participated in modernizing Agriculture and carpentry by setting up agricultural institutions and carpentry workshops for training.
  
• Christian missionaries were also influential in establishing educational institutions and training efficient class of African clergy (catechists) who were close and more understandable to the local communities. This helped and enhanced the propagation of faith.
  
• Christian missionaries were at times involved in political processes that were beyond spiritual jurisdiction. They for example participated in the overthrow of Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda.
  

Problems faced by missionaries in East Africa

• Christian missionaries in East Africa were faced with various problems which clipped their activities at times. These include:

• They faced the problem of language barrier. This was because East Africa had a multiplicity of languages hence rendering communication between the missionaries and the local people very difficult.  
  
• There was a problem of the influence of Islam. Arabs being the first group of people to arrive at the coast and interior had deep rooted Islam into the people thus making it difficult for the people to easily adopt Christianity. For example, by the time Sir Edward Frere arrived in East Africa (1873) Rebmann had only 6 converts.
  
• Existence of tropical diseases was yet another problem faced by the Christian missionaries. Tropical diseases like malaria, small pox, claimed many missionary lives thus making progress in their activities very difficult since they could be left very few in numbers.
  
• Another hardship was caused by geographical barriers. These included hilly areas, rivers, lakes and forests. These hindered their free movement to various places thus a threat to their activities.
  
• Divisions and quarrels between various missionary groups for example Catholics versus Protestants was a hindrance to their activities. This could create divisions and biases among the believers thus weakening their capacity to convert more converts.
  
• Poor transport was a hindrance to the missionary activities in East Africa. This was due to undeveloped roads at the time to help in the movement of missionaries from one place to another.
  
• Presence of hostile tribes in East Africa was also a problem that faced Christian missionaries. The Nandi and Masai who believed that strangers were not supposed to pass via their land could attack and kill many missionaries thereby reducing their numbers compared to the increasing number of converts.
  
• The presence of wild animals was also a threat to the missionary activities in East Africa. Man enters in Tsavo National Park consumed and threatened many whites. This clipped their activities at times.
  
• The missionaries faced the problem of lack of supplies. They for example lacked enough money, accommodation and drugs. This was because they originated from very far (Europe) thus making it difficult for them to have full time and constant supplies. Such put their lives at risk and could sometimes lead to death.
  
• The Christian missionaries faced the problem of stiff contradiction and rivals between European missionaries and traditional Africans. Customs like polygamy, satanic worship, etc were deep rooted into African communities which proved a threat for the missionaries to successfully uproot them.
  

The missionaries made their work difficult by involving in politics and judicial systems which were beyond spiritual jurisdiction. Local leaders could misinterpreted them as political rivals and organize their masses for resistance against missionary activities. 

Effects of missionaries in East Africa

• They spread Christianity and baptized many converts. Catechists were also trained who helped in the spread of Christianity for example, in Uganda by 1911 many people had been converted and many cathedrals and churches were built like the Kikuyu churches (Charismatic Arathi or spirit churches.)
• African religious beliefs, culture and traditions were despised and demoralized for example the birth and murder of twins, human sacrifice.
  
• They established hospitals and clinics which offered modern medicine plus research in tropical diseases like malaria, small pox, yellow fever and sleeping sickness which had claimed many lives. For example Dr Albert Cook built Mengo hospital.
  
• They introduced the European system of management and styles of dress and architecture which have been adopted by many people in East Africa today.
  
• They put to an end the inter-tribal or inter-village wars and established a stable and peaceful society under one faithful leader (centralization).
  
• They studied African languages and translated the Bible into various languages. For example Kraft translated the New Testament of the Bible into Swahili, Bishop Edward Steere based in Zanzibar learnt and studied Swahili and translated books from English to Swahili, published the New Testament and the entire Bible in 1891.
  
• They established printing presses like Marianum press and published newspapers.
  
• They opened up primary and secondary schools as well as training collages for teachers and trade schools for craftsmen e.g. Kisubi Vocational School, Kiteredde Brothers in Masaka. In the technical schools, carpentry and brick laying skills were obtained.        
  
• A new class of elite emerged. Africans educated mainly in English and French emerged, these later served as doctors, lawyers, clerks, teachers, catechists, agriculturalists and priests who played a great role of spreading Christianity. For example, in 1890, Africans were ordained as priests of the University Mission to Central Africa in Tanganyika. 
  
• They paved way for the improvement of agriculture through establishing experimental farms and plantations where new crops, better methods of farming and equipment  were introduced for example cotton was introduced by Kenneth Boroup in 1903 and Africans were taught how to use a plough and how to grow coffee.
  
• Missionaries improved communication and transport which in turn led to the opening up of the hinterland of Africa. The building of strong boats and ships gave Europeans courage to travel far from home.
  
• Missionaries destroyed local industries like craft industry e.g. blacksmiths, pottery work were all destroyed and replaced with European products e.g. manufactured items like cups, saucepans, etc.
  
• They contributed to the rise of nationalism. This was made possible through education where the African elite emerged and started demanding for independence e.g. Tom Mboya, Obote, Nyerere, and Kenyatta.  
  
• They fought slave trade which was later abolished and equality and liberty for all was encouraged in East Africa.
  
• Mission stations were developed in towns like Rabai missionary station near Mombasa in 1846 Bagamoyo, Tabora, etc.
  

Mau Mau Uprising

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.

Objectives

At the end of the topic students should be able to:

1. Explain the background of the Mau-Mau up rising
   
   
2. Explain the causes of the uprising
   
   
3. Describe the course or stages of the uprising
   
   
4. State reasons why the rising took long to end (1951-1960)
   
   
5. Explain why the uprising was suppressed
   
   
6. Explain government measures to contain the uprising
   
   
7. State the effects of the uprising

Key concepts to emphasize by the teacher

The teacher should have advance knowledge on the following:

1. Other rebellions
   
   
2. The second world war
   
   
3. Where the rising took place
   
   
4. The leaders of the rising
   
   
5. Why their was that rising
   
   
6. 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

1. Were and Wilson East Africa through a thousand years,
   
   
2. Odhiambo A history of East Africa and
   
   
3. 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 - 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. 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

1. Communication: ability to read, write,listen and speak using appropriate language.

2. Team work: ability to cooperate and share tasks with colleagues.

3. Personal attributes : creativity, enthusiasm, reflective thinking, self awareness

4. Information skills : ability to identify information needs,observe and collect evidence and present findings appropriately

5. Application of number: - numeracy (as they compare crop yields in treated and untreated plots)

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.

Objectives

At the end of the topic students should be able to:

1. Explain the background of the Mau-Mau up rising
   
   
2. Explain the causes of the uprising
   
   
3. Describe the course or stages of the uprising
   
   
4. State reasons why the rising took long to end (1951-1960)
   
   
5. Explain why the uprising was suppressed
   
   
6. Explain government measures to contain the uprising
   
   
7. State the effects of the uprising

Key concepts to emphasize by the teacher

The teacher should have advance knowledge on the following:

1. Other rebellions
   
   
2. The second world war
   
   
3. Where the rising took place
   
   
4. The leaders of the rising
   
   
5. Why their was that rising
   
   
6. 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

1. Were and Wilson East Africa through a thousand years,
   
   
2. Odhiambo A history of East Africa and
   
   
3. 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 - 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. 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

1. Communication: ability to read, write,listen and speak using appropriate language.

2. Team work: ability to cooperate and share tasks with colleagues.

3. Personal attributes : creativity, enthusiasm, reflective thinking, self awareness

4. Information skills : ability to identify information needs,observe and collect evidence and present findings appropriately

5. Application of number: - numeracy (as they compare crop yields in treated and untreated plots) 

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.

Objectives

At the end of the topic students should be able to:

1. Explain the background of the Mau-Mau up rising
   
   
2. Explain the causes of the uprising
   
   
3. Describe the course or stages of the uprising
   
   
4. State reasons why the rising took long to end (1951-1960)
   
   
5. Explain why the uprising was suppressed
   
   
6. Explain government measures to contain the uprising
   
   
7. State the effects of the uprising

Key concepts to emphasize by the teacher

The teacher should have advance knowledge on the following:

1. Other rebellions
   
   
2. The second world war
   
   
3. Where the rising took place
   
   
4. The leaders of the rising
   
   
5. Why their was that rising
   
   
6. 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

1. Were and Wilson East Africa through a thousand years,
   
   
2. Odhiambo A history of East Africa and
   
   
3. 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 - 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. 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

1. Communication: ability to read, write,listen and speak using appropriate language.

2. Team work: ability to cooperate and share tasks with colleagues.

3. Personal attributes : creativity, enthusiasm, reflective thinking, self awareness

4. Information skills : ability to identify information needs,observe and collect evidence and present findings appropriately

5. Application of number: - numeracy (as they compare crop yields in treated and untreated plots)

COURSE OF THE MAU-MAU MOVEMENT

Due to the failure of the Devonshire White paper to solve African problems, Africans started forming underground movements. Up to 1944 a European missionary represented Africans on the Legislative council.  The Kenyan population broke down into secret societies on tribal and   tradition basis.
 After 1945, a number of political groups were formed some of which led to the
formation of the Mau-Mau. The group that spearheaded this was that of the dissatisfied ex-soldiers known as the “FORTY GROUP” in 1946.They began by organizing opposition of European policies e.g. stopping the kikuyu from terracing their land.
 The group was then joined by the other groups and formed one called “Kenya Land and Freedom Army”. In 1946, they got in touch with Kenyatta after he had returned from Britain, he was the leader of the Kenya African Union (KAU) (after James Gichuru) and this organization was later called Mau-Mau.
 The rebels had many demands from the government but most important of all was independence for all Kenyans and a return of land grabbed by the Europeans. Kenyatta as KAU (Kenya African Union) leader had kept in touch with the local leaders and their activities and later became their leader. Although he tried to get national support for the party, it remained predominantly Kikuyu and failed to gain significantly beyond the central province. The Europeans became hostile to Kenyatta’s political activities and even threatened to deport him.

By 1948 the legislative council membership had 4 Africans and African demand for independence was growing. However, the colonial government felt that it needed more of their guidance. In 1950 the KAU extremists and the ex-soldiers lost patience and the movement became violent.
Basing their underground movements in Nairobi, they made plans for direct action using forceful traditional oath practices promising to oust the settlers, obey their leaders and keep secrets under threat of death.
They attacked European and Asian shops and businesses so as to get guns and disappeared into forests to wedge guerrilla warfare against the Europeans.
In 1951 the Mau-Mau was declared unlawful by the government due its acts of violence. In 1952 the Mau-Mau made bases in the Aberdare forests and Mt. Kenya spreading their hostile activities over the highlands, rift valley region and Nairobi.
They attacked European farms, raided villages for food and murdered those they thought were loyal to the government. Diplomatic or constitutional means employed to stop the Mau-Mau by peaceful means failed.
Governor Sir Evelyn Baring realizing that the Mau-Mau fighters were a potential danger declared a state of emergency on 28th October 1952. More armed forces were brought into action and British troops flown into Kenya to control the situation but without success. Many suspected leaders of the Mau-Mau were arrested e.g. Tom Mbotela the vice president of the KAU and a Nairobi City Councilor was assassinated. Several villages were burnt down in the Lari massacre.
In April 1953 Kenyatta was arrested with his colleagues, he was tried and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of managing and directing the Mau-Mau activities. In June 1953 KAU was banned. Despite the arrest of its members, its activities continued.
In 1954 many members of the Kikuyu were rounded up in Nairobi and forced into special emergency villages or camps partly for their own protection and partly to stop them from contacting the rebels.
In January 1956, Itote popularly known as ‘General China’ a prominent military leader of the Mau-Mau was captured and executed and in October the same year, Dedan Kimathi was also killed.
By 1960 the movement had broken down due to conflicts over leadership and shortly after came to an end.
The rebellion became a path for the future independence of Kenya which was later achieved on 12th December 1963.

WHY DID THE MAU-MAU TAKE LONG TO END?

• Africans were using guerrilla warfare based in Abedare mountains and mountain Kenya making it difficult for the government to suppress them.
  
  
• The rebels adopted good military strategies and spy network as the majority were ex-soldiers.
  
  
• They had been able to acquire guns, which gave them military advantage.
  
• The British were depending on the Africans, some of whom were secret members of the Mau-Mau. The Africans were forced to take traditional oaths, which unified them.
  
  
• The availability of able leaders like Jomo Kenyatta and General China.
  
  
• African determination gave them courage to persist for a long time.

WHY WAS THE UPRISING SUPPRESSED/ REASONS WHY THE
RESISTANCE FAILED

• Some Africans allied with the British. These included the brain washed Africans who called themselves ‘good Christians, law abiding citizens of Kenya’, and African chiefs who were appointed by the British. These collaborated with the British and defeated the Africans.
  
  
• The resistance was affected and weakened by the removal of African strong leaders through detention,imprisonment and executions for example, in April 1953, Jomo Kenyatta was arrested, tried and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
  
• The British were better-equipped and better fighters. Militarily the British had superior weapons although the Africans had the zeal to fight they used locally made weapons to execute their cause as compared to the British who had armoured trains, guns and automatic tracing equipment like Binoculars. This partly explains why the Mau Mau was defeated.
  
  
• There were disagreements among the political parties in the later stages of the rebellion. The lack of a single mass political party that would have spearheaded the struggle for example, Kenya African National Union (KANU) which comprised of the Kikuyu and Luo advocated for a military government while Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) dominated by the Kalenjin and Coastal Bantu tribes advocated for a central government. These disagreements and quarrels partly explain the defeat.
  
  
• The eventual death of Mau Mau commanders led like General China and Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi led to its defeat. These two had been the most experienced soldiers who had participated in the Second World War and knew well the weakness of European soldiers. Worse still, their death by public hanging served to frighten many Africans from joining the Mau Mau.
  
  
• They had no enough food as they did not have time to engage in farming.  The food stores where burnt by the colonial government so the fighters had to survive by feeding on bitter roots, fish and wild game. Such a diet greatly demoralized them.
  
  
• A part from forcing them to unite, the idea of forcing Africans to take an oath was disadvantageous to some extent since some people were not faithful.
  
  
• The British were constantly re-enforced by their home governments.
  
  
• Africans fought single handedly, for example the British were constantly provided with food, ammunition and clothing. The British police could frequently be flown into Kenya to help the Kenya African riffles in disorganizing the Mau Mau movement.
  
  
• Banning of political parties in Kenya weakened Mau Mau movement. After the British realizing that political violence towards the Africans had failed to contain the strength of the guerrilla movement, they banned KAU and political leaders like Kenyatta were imprisoned. The party supporters threatened to withdraw their support while the combatants at the front lost the morale to fight. Such confusion could not yield any victory to the Mau Mau fighters.
  
  
• The determination of the British to calm down the rebellion. They used violent approaches to weaken the Mau Mau further for example, the government detained the Africans in reserves and this reduced the level of interaction amongst the Africans. The leaders of the uprising such as General China were publicly hanged, Jomo Kenyatta who was so influential was detained for seven years. This weakened the uprising which was defeated by 1956.

MEASURES TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT TO SUPPRESS THE UP RISING

At first it was regarded as a minor rising, so it deployed the police who were using the King’s African Rifles. On realizing that this strategy had failed, the then governor, Sir Evelyn Baring declared a state of emergency and more troops were sent in from Europe as step one.
All political parties were abolished and Kenyatta and other prominent leaders suspected of being the key leaders of the movement were arrested. In April 1953, Kenyatta was sentenced to a term of seven years imprisonment.
Having got rid of the prominent leaders, government troops headed for the forests where serious fighting ensued. Meanwhile, a number of Kikuyu were rounded up and taken to special emergency camps in various areas, example, Nairobi, Embu, Meru
In 1954, government organized more raids in Nairobi area and rounded up more than 26,000 Kikuyu and also moved to other areas, like Kamba, Embu, Meru and so on.

Besides rounding up the Kikuyu, in Nairobi, the government also came for the Kikuyu who were studying at Makerere University.
In that same year (1954) General China was also arrested .His real name was Waruhiu Itote. He was captured and sentenced to death.  He was leading the struggle from Mt. Kenya.

Another leader, Dedan Kimathi who had continued with the struggle after General China was also captured and sentenced to death in 1956.After their capture, the struggle begun declining. However, fighting continued until 1960 when government declared that the emergency was over.

EFFECTS/RESULTS OF THE MAU-MAU RISING

• Many people lost their lives which led to depopulation. 100 Europeans and 2000 Pro-British Africans lost their lives. Over 10,000 energetic men were killed and this massive loss of productive labor led to economic decline in Kenya after 1956.
  
  
• The Kenyans were allowed to participate in the Legislative council in large numbers. In 1958, a constitution (Lennox) was drawn which provided for 15 members of African representation to the council and therefore members like Arap Moi ,Oginga Odinga ,Tom Mboya joined  the legislative council who became influential  in the independence struggle.
  
  
• Kenyans became involved in various economic activities as equal partners from which they had been excluded .They were allowed to grow profitable crops like coffee, tea, cotton from which they obtained profits and improved their standards of living.
  
  
• It led to the formation of political parties. Due to the increased constitutional reforms and increased education, African elite emerged and these formed strong political parties which included Kenya African National Union. (KANU) Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU). These parties strongly advocated for Kenyan Independence.
  
  
• It led to the leaders of the Mau-Mau and many people being arrested and detained in prison for a long time hence their suffering and misery  for example Jomo Kenyatta detained for seven years and Dedan Kimathi.
  
• The activities of the Mau Mau uprising put pressure on the colonial government to the extent that Kenya got her independence in 1963. The colonial government was forced to undertake social, economic as well as political reforms. In 1958, constitutional reforms were adopted which quickened the way to multi-racial form of government in Kenya. For the first time the Africans were included in the local and national politics in Kenya.
  
  
• The uprising led to the exodus of many white settlers in Kenya and the plans to make Kenya a white man’s country became futile. After 1956, all parts that were racially restricted were made open to all races including the Kenyan highlands.
  
  
• Farms were destroyed which led to food shortage in the area. There was massive destruction of the food stores, granaries and burning of fields and yet people were confined in camps and reserves. These became congested and over crowded with no land for agriculture. The political instability destabilized the agricultural development in Kenya.
  
• The war was costly to both Britain and Kenya. Britain. For example it’s estimated that the British Government spent over 50million pounds on buying auxiliary weapons and financing the war. In addition there was loss of business and therefore money since trade was paralyzed. Administrative centers, churches, farm machinery worth millions of pounds were also destroyed.
  
  
• The colonial administration was forced to with draw the foreign labour policy and many Kenyans began looking for jobs in their own country reducing the Asian domination of the commercial and retail sectors.
  
  
• The removal of Kikuyu leaders gave an opportunity to other leaders to rise up, example, Tom Mboya, Oginga Odinga etc. These worked to sensitize the Africans to fight on and intensify the massive destruction of property that belonged to the British, Asian retail shops were frequently looted. This created economic pain that forced the British subdue to the African cry for independence by promising quick constitutional transformation.
  
• The whites accepted that a multi-racial society was the only solution and each race had to accept peaceful existence with one another. Equality of races was witnessed in schools, agriculture and government especially the ministerial ranks.  The exclusive white occupation and settlement of Kenya highlands was abolished. In this respect the Mau Mau achieved the objective of its leaders i.e. Equal treatment of races.
  
• Mau Mau rebellion affected the settlement patterns of the kikuyu:  Small and protected villages were created by the government as a means of separating civilians from guerillas (fighters).A total of 80,000 Kikuyu men, women and children were confined in detention camps. The 1952 state of emergency forced the kikuyu to live in the protected villages together instead of the formerly scattered settlement. This later enabled easy provision of schools, health services, and market services to the people.
  
• It led to the release of political prisoners .For instance in August 1961 Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was released, elected to Legislative Assembly and made president of Kenya African  National Union (KANU).Similarly, 173 prisoners who were released by rebels during the height of the Mau Mau uprising.
  
  
• Increased Africanisation of Kenya’s educational system, Africans were allowed to access good quality education similar to that of the white settlers. Many were admitted in public schools, more schools for the African children were constructed even in the rural areas. Further still African children were given priority on scholarship awarded by the government which never happened before.

In conclusion, the British were quick to hand over power to Africans i.e. Ghana 1957, Tanganyika (Tanzania) 9/12/1961, Uganda 9/10/1962, Kenya 12/12/1963. This was done so as to avoid worse embarrassment and bloodshed as the case was with the Mau Mau in Kenya.

THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN EAST AFRICAN NATIONS 1900 - 1963
                    
Learners' activities

Activity one
Role play
Divide the class into groups and ask them to act out the roles of the following:-
(i)         Nationalists like Jomo Kenyatta, Dedan Kimathi, General China and Tom Mboya.
(ii)        The Ex-service men from the Second World War
(iii)       The Kikuyu whose land was alienated (taken away)
(iv)    British administrators in Kenya
Questions for learners

1. What skills have you acquired from acting out the above roles?

1. How can the skills mentioned above be applicable in today’s life situation?

Activity two
At the end of the topic, assign the class to do the following:-

1. Guide them to describe a crisis from their own experience and perspective.
2. Task them to suggest the possible causes of the above crises and to

suggest various ways of addressing different crises facing Uganda
Activity three
Organize a class debate on the following motion:
“THE MAU -MAU UPRISING OF 1952-60 WAS A BLESSING IN DISGUISE”.
Write an article for the New vision about the Mau Mau uprising of 1952-60