THE KENYII QIJEST/fJN: 
lin lllrictln llnswer 


by Tom Mboya 
Fore~ord by Margery Perham 


TWO SHILLINGS & SIXPENCE 

FABIAN COLONIAL BUREAU 


TOM MBOYA is Secretary of the Kenya Federation of Labour, 
and has just completed a year at Ruskin College. 


FABlAN TRACT 302 

FABIAN COLONIAL BUREAU 
1 L Dartmouth Street. S.W.1 



Note.-This pamphlet, like all publications of 
the FABIAN SOCIETY, represents not the collective 
view of the Society but only the view of the 
individual who prepared it. The responsibility of 
the Society is lilnited to approving the publications 
which it issues as worthy of consideration within 
the Labour Movenzent. 

5eptember, 1956. 



Foreword 


I 
I 
MUST BEGIN with two explanations. The first may sound a little 
ungracious to the publisher as it is really an apology for writing in 
a political production. This is against the rule which, as an academic 
worker, I have set myself. It is due to my having very much wished 
to introduce this pamphlet to readers and to n1y finding that the writer 
was already committed to publication through the Fabians. For myself 
the Kenya problem is not a party matter and I am convinced that we 
shall be unable to help Africa in the next difficult twenty years unless 
we can maintain, at least in large measure, an agreed policy. 
My second explanation is that my desire to write an introduction to 
this pamphlet does not mean that I endorse the whole of it. Mr. Mboya 
and I agreed upon the same terms under which I had the opportunity 
to introduce Mr. Awolowo's book, The Path to Nigerian Freedon1. 1 
These are that I would not ask the writer to revise his views in order 
to satisfy me but that he on his side was prepared to let me write 
whatever I wished, even in disagreement. My motive in both instances 
was the same, the desire that the views of Africa's potential leaders 
should be widely read and, if possible, sympathetically understood . 

An African Speaks 

[ commend this pamphlet to the serious study of all those concerned 
with the affairs of Kenya. The peoples of that country have justsuffered terribly in life and wealth from an outbreak of ferocity. The 
important psychological study of the Mau Mau rebellion by Dr. 
Carothers,2 to which not nearly enough attention and publicity has been 
given, shows that the movement was a sudden ignition from the discontents 
which had accumulated their intensest heat among the Kikuyu 
but which, from the same deep cause. may exist in greater or lesser 
degree among the other tribes. In brief, this cause is the almost intolerable 
sense of frustration suffered by an isolated tribal people when suddenly 
dominated by a superior civilization because thi at once destroys the 
basis of their old society and at the same time seems to forbid entry 
into the new. The stern and necessary repression of disorder by heavymilitary action has stamped down the forest-fire of Kikuyu violence; 
and it is probable that for a time there may be a period of quiescence. 
But the embers are still there and unless Africans can find an outlet in 
public and organized definition of their inchoate fears and needs the 
spark may rekindle again and this time over a wider area. 

In this pamphlet we have the attempt of an African who, incidentally, 
is not a Kikuyu, to explain the attitude of men of his race in Kenya and 
to put forward clear-cut proposals for reform and political advance. A 

1 Published by Faber 1947. 
2 J. C. Carothers, The Psychology of Mau Mau (Nairobi 1954). 



man such as this should be given a serious hearing and a full opportunity 
to contribute his ideas to the intense political discussion by the other 
races which has been evoked by the coming elections. If this is denied, 
others, less rational and experienced than he, may be driven back to the 
underground method and blow up the hidden fires of discontent. 

The Author 

'A man such as this?' But what sort of man is he? He is a Luo 
from South Nyanza. For three years he has held the post of general 
secretary of the Kenya Federation of Labour, a body which, like its 
constituent unions, is still young and inexperienced but is drawing upon 
expert help and advice from outside Kenya. In 1954. he visited India 
and Pakistan. In 1955 he was a delegate to the Inter-African Labour 
Conference at Beira of the Committee for Technical Co-operation in 
Africa South of the Sahara. In Kenya he has been a member of the 
Labour and Wages Advisory Board and the Rural Wages Committee, 
and has been the local representative of the International Confederation 
of Free Trade Unions. From 1951-3 he worked as Health Inspector 
for the City Council of Nair obi and in 1953 founded the Kenya Local 
Government Workers' Union. In 1955 he mediated, very effectively I 
understand, in the Mombasa dock strike and helped the dockers to 
put their case to the tribunal. His work has naturally brought him into 
contact with many parts and peoples of Kenya. With the help of the 
Workers' Travel Association he has just spent the academic year 1955-6 
studying at Ruskin College, Oxford. He is spending the summer partly 
in Belgium at the headquarters of the I.C.F.T.U. and partly in the United 
States before returning to Kenya in the early autumn. 

I have given Mr. Mboya's record in order to show that he is a travelled 
man with much practical and administrative experience and with a down-
to-earth knowledge of labour conditions in Kenya. He has also the 
advantage of youth: he is still only twenty-six. In Britain he has made 
many friends. He has met a number of political leaders and members 
of Parliament. He has been frequently in London and he listened to 
the recent important debate on Kenya in the House of Commons on 
June 6th. In Oxford he has taken part in discussions and seminars with 
post-graduates upon subjects connected with his own field, and has 
held his own. He has a clear head and a quiet restrained manner. He 
is a fluent speaker but as far as my experience goes, avoids emotion and 
maintains a very rational manner. When I heard him at a recent 
conference in London I was surprised at the end of his speech to see 
that he had spoken for 80 minutes; so completely had he held my 
attention that I had not been aware of the time. I should judge that 
he has a steadiness of character and a very strong will, but time alone 
can prove this. 

A Fair Hearing 

I expect that some of those who read this, especially in Kenya, will 
deplore this published appraisal of a young man on the grounds that it 
will turn his head if, indeed, it is still straight. I do not think it will. 


ln any case he has had the compliment of serious attention in so many 
quarters, British and foreign, where people are eager to make contact 
with the mind of young Africa, especially hitherto almost silent East 
Africa, that these few additional words of mine are unlikely to affect 
him. And it is very important that these words should be said. The 
possibility that Mr. Mboya will become conceited is far less dangerous 
than that he, and other responsible African leaders, should be faced with 
prejudice and refused a fair hearing. 

This statement is not a piece of political blackmail, as it might be in 
a normal country. For Kenya is not a normal country. It is highly 
abnormal and is at this moment, with the non-African and the first 
African elections imminent, moving into a gravely testing period.
Africans stand desperately in need of intelligent leaders who know something 
of the world beyond East Africa. Many of the older chiefs who 
showed such courage and loyalty during the emergency are not, unfortunately, 
qualified to take part in central political affairs. It is the 
educated men who are likely to be elected. There are few enough of 
these and they are unavoidably ·young and inexperienced. They need, 
not necessarily agreement, but an understanding of their views and of 
their difficulties. 

II 


In this foreword I have no intention of plunging into the middle of 
Kenya's problems and volunteering detailed remedies. I want rather 
to speak of the approach to these problems and the need to understand 
their nature and their setting in the world of today. 

Need for Understanding 

Seen close up from the farms and the lovely downs and forests of 
the White Highlands or the villas and clubs of Nairobi, the Kenya 
problem seems, to judge by much that is being said there today, to be 
an African problem -the threat of the Africans to the established 
political and economic position achieved over some fifty years by the 
European minority. Hence arises a siege mentality, with all its deep 
feats, its defiance, it~ Isolation, its spoken or unspoken vow of blood-
brotherhood between the defenders to show total solidarity and the 
highest courage to the end. But fron1 the wider outside view of most 
of the rest of the world Kenya presents not an African problem but a 
settler problem. 

The settlers' position certainly appears one of great danger, even of 
siege, but it is a siege of the high citadel of privilege and domination 
which they occupied easily in circumstances which are rapidly passing 
away, ~ process which cannot be reversed and can hardly be delayed 
in the world of 1956. Courage and defiance from behind the walls of 
this citadel shut out realities more effectively than dangers and are not 
appropriate to the situation. Constitutions which embody the domination 
of an immigrant racial minority over millions of the indigenous peoples, 
have been throwp. on the defensive even in South Africa; are in the 


melting pot in Central Africa, and are being bloodily attacked in Algeria. 
Such a system of minority rule is certainly untenable by less than 
50,000 whites in the very heart of negro Africa. Most of the subject 
peoples, including those of eastern Africa, with the approval or support 
of nine-tenths of the rest of the world, are beginning to move towards 
self-government with majority rule. Is it likely that any native population 
will for long continue to accept the accident of white settlement 
as a reason why what is given to their brothers, sometimes literally their 
tribal brothers just across a border, should be denied to them? The 
courage that is needed in Kenya today is the courage not to make a last 
stand but to take the first steps which these hard facts demand. 

No Prejudice or Hostility 

The people in Britain who, by and large, accept this view, are almost 
certainly a large majority of those who have any knowledge of Kenya. 
With few exceptions, they are not, I am sure, moved by any prejudice 
or hostility towards the settlers. It is important to repeat this because 
many Europeans in Kenya seem to be lashed into an unreasoning anger 
by a sense that they are the victims of some kind of plot or deliberate 
animosity. Those who make an unpromising assessment about the future 
of the settlers' privileged position are neither responsible for the factors 
they assess nor necessarily pleased by them. 

Speaking for myself, from my first visit to Kenya twenty-five years 
ago I believed and said that the special position of the settlers was 
unjust to other races and in the long run untenable. But I have been 
more inclined to blame, not so n1uch the individual settlers who have 
made their beautiful and productive farms on these highlands, but 
British governments and governors who allowed them to build up also 
a political position which contravened British ideas of justice and democracy. 
A desperate eleventh hour attempt by the settlers, or a large 
section of them, to hold this position against all the forces which are 
ranged against them in Kenya, in East Africa, in Africa, in Britain and 
in the world, can end only in failure, but in a failure which may destroy 
any hope of maintaining white settlement or even the British connection. 

Inevitable Change 

It is not difficult to see that to many Europeans who have spent a 
lifetime or the best part of it in Kenya, the demand of the Africans to 
advance towards majority rule -for that is the main sense of this 
pamphlet -must seem a dangerous madness. They see the ignorance of 
the African servants and labourers, the inefficiency of their agriculture, 
their unpunctuality and unreliability in the setting of modern conditions. 
Their minds are still full of the bestialities of Mau Mau committed on 
their doorstep, threatening all and destroying some of their own number. 
They regard with horror the possibility of passing under the control of 
the Africans. 

Of course, these fears are not without much reason. Students of 

history or sociology, indeed any thoughtful onlookers, would possibly 

agree that it would have been much better if negro Africa could have 


had another century at least of British rule, of order, education, unification, 
economic development, at the hands of beneficent and expert 
trustees. But -and this is where the approach is all-important -we 
cannot have these desirable condition . We have to make terms with 
things as they are, however unplea ant or even dangerous. Peopleundergoing Africa's deep social changes, which will accelerate with each 
acceleration of economic development, cannot be kept psychologically 
static. This means that they cannot be kept in a state of arrested 
political development. 

As a people we British are lacking in foresight. Let us then close 
our eyes and try to imagine the position in Kenya ten or twenty years 
ahead. For one educated and travelled Mboya there will be a hundred 
or more and scores of highly educated graduates from Makerere and 
elsewhere many of whom will, I hope, have rounded off their education 
in Britain. These men and women will be increasingly in touch with 
all those centres in the world, in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and 
America, from which they can draw help and political encouragement. 
Unless they can be convinced that they can completely fulfil their natural 
hopes for greater dignity and welfare for themselves and their people 
within a parliamentary constitution and within the British association, 
they will set to work not to 1nake Kenya a most of us wish to see it but 
to break it. 

Unavoidable Risks 

The mistake made by many of those who refuse to face these possibilities 
is that we who try to do so are wholly deluded about African 
capacities and the ea e of the courses we recommend. This is not so. 
No honest observer can be blind to the grave problems and dangers 
of disunity, corruption and the rest, which threaten the newly emancipated 
countries in Africa. But we must ask whether British governments, 
once ambitions for self-government had been aroused, could have averted 
these dangers and solved these problems. We are trying to deal with 
situations which, because of the backwardness of Africa, have no precedent. 
But it seems that there comes a moment when Britain can no 
longer effectively govern a subject people against the will of the educated 
minority. Once that position is reached we find we have to go with and 
not against their ambitions. There should. therefore, come first a period 
of vigorous preparation for self-government and then another period, 
the longer the better for them, though difficult enough for us, when we 
begin transferring power while still supplying trained staff and retaining 
ultimate powers of security. Perilous work indeed! But let us remember 
that, even if we consider the date for emancipation is premature, the 
goal itself is in line both with our own principles and our declared 
colonial policy. 

It may be countered that there are ruling minorities in Africa and 
elsewhere who, by uncompromising repression of their subjects or by 
insulating them from outside influences, appear to be able to avert the 
political changes we have been discussing. But here again we must 
accept the environment within which we have to work. Part of that 


.. 

is the British policy of colonial emancipation, the freedom of our politics 
and press with all their repercussions upon Africa. The British, in 
other words, are by character and constitution, incompetent repressors 
and had therefore better try something else in good time. 

Dangers of Extremism 
If this is true, the things which many Kenya settlers are todaydenouncing as dangers are really their safeguards. The experienced and 
educated African leaders, such as the author of this pamphlet, stand in 
as much danger from violent African extremism as do the Europeans 
or the Indians. The tragedy is that with the late and all-too-rapidopening up of Africa to the west -the abnormality which underlies all 
others and which should never be forgotten -these leaders are still so 
few. They are trying to be rational, having made the great struggle 
against poverty, language and the rest, to master knowledge of their 
world; they have to stand at the head of the African masses, and try 
to canalize their often blind and dangerous discont~nts into legitimate 
political action, and to turn the almost indefinable revolt against inferiority 
into a practicable party programme. 
The position of these leaders will be made almost hopeless if they 
are confronted with personal contempt and utter political negation by the 
leaders of other races in Kenya. If they should be treated thus the only 
thing that might still help them to keep to the narrow and difficult pathof constitutional action is the knowledge that in Britain, if not in Kenya, 
there are politicians who will support them and friends who have faith 
in them. I have known African leaders from west and central as well 
as eastern Africa. So far, I believe that all of them would prefer to take 
what they need -and they will acknowledge the extent of their need 
if it is not forced upon them as a means of humiliation -from Britain 
rather than from anywhere else. But they are in a hurry, not 
necessarily from sheer ambition -though why should personal ambition 
be regarded as a crime in African politicians? -but because the tide of 
nationalism is rising behind them and though they may guide it their 
power to delC;ty it may be limited. 

Conflict or Co-operation ? 
Believing this, I must regard some of the speeches that are being made 
this· summer of 1956 by some of the settler leaders as extremely unwise. 
They do not, as T\1r. Mboya says, reveal much change of ambition from 
the old purpose of minority rule: they seem to conceive that strange 
amalgam 'multi-racial government' as a very limited, almost delusive 
advance upon the old regime, with Mr. Blund 11 facing the first waves of 
the tide of African political consciousness in the posture of King Canute. 
If the settlers challenge the Africans to a political duel a l'outrance the 
Africans are now in a position to take up the challenge with every hope 
of an ultimate victory not on 'multi-racial' or any reasonable terms 
but on those prompted by their own unreasoning anger. Can the white 
colony afford to invite open conflict? To drive Asians and Africans 
into alliance? To alienate British public opinion? Is the alternative 


so unthinkable, that of abandoning group solidarity and privilege and 
accepting as a final goal a system in which, as in the West Indies, 
they will play their part as individual citizens, for a long time the most 
wealthy and able members of society? 

Ill 


I know well that these arguments will be labelled defeatism. But 
private and personal courage and public political courage should never 
be confused. History teaches that the greater political courage lies more 
often in the fearless acceptance of change than in blind defiance of it. 
As for courage of convictions, surely in Kenya there are higher convictions 
demanding our support even than the defense of 'the interests of 
our countrymen ' -as they define those interests. There is faith in the 
hun1an nature of the other races and of their capacity to enjoy the freedoms 
that are part of our heritage of convictions. 

To return to our pamphlet. 

Mr. Mboya suggests stages of advance towards this democratic 
situation. He is too optimistic, of course, when he says ' There is nothing 
to fear'. There is much to fear, but less, surely, than will result from 
piling up racial hatred by the claim to racial dictatorship. It is necessaryto look, in a practical manner, at the results which settlers naturally 
fear and see how far they can be avoided. 

African Unreadiness to Rule 

' This brings me to the main point I wish to make. The end of settler 
donzination need not and must not be followed immediately by African 
domination. Of course the Africans are quite unready to take over the 
government of the country. Experienced African chiefs, civil servants 
and members of the Legislative Council all know it and admit it. Theyare prepared to accept safeguards for the minorities retained in the hands 
of the British government. But do not let us presume upon the ' loyalty ' 
shown in the emergency. It is probable that even the loyalists ask, 
like this pamphlet, for a hope, a promise that they are not to be treated 
differently from other peoples in the Commonwealth and the world. 
They ask that their poverty and inexperience should not be used to 
justify their being kept indefinitely in a subordinate position, but attacked 
vigorously by all the most modern methods of education and bettern1ent 
in order to qualify them as soon as possible for self-government. 

They now have the authority of the Royal Commission1 behind them 
both to justify many of their complaints and to give expert definition to 
many of their requirements. 

But they know as well as we do that they are very far from being 
able even to supply full political control still less to carry out executively 
all the functions of the modern state. These are the more difficult in 
Kenya because its physical conditions need the fullest app1 ication of 
scientific method and the acceptance by a peasant population of often 
uncomprehended measures urgently applied to safeguard their basic 

East African Royal Commission 1953-5 Report, Cmd. 9475 (1955). 


resources. Politically the tribes of Kenya are far behind those of West 
Africa: they have still to start their progress towards nationhood, an end 
which the government, far from obstructing as it is at present, could 
accelerate with all its powers, once the goal were openly acknowledged. 

Filling the Gap 

At this point I might be reminded of the safeguard that is actually

being applied to the first African elections, that of the limited franchise. 

I should like to believe with the Capricorn Society, the sincerity of whose 

members I greatly respect, that this measure, if applied to all races, 

might prove a workable, if only an interim solution of Kenya's hard 

constitutional problem. But I feel forced to share Mr. Mboya's doubts 

of this expedient because of the administrative difficulties it presents and 

the invidiousness of the tests applied to the voters. 'Furthermore, the 

fact that this system has been rejected by almost every democracy in 

the world, must put the rejected candidates in a position to make a 

powerful appeal to the unenfranchised over the heads of their elected 

rivals. 

There must, therefore, it seems, be an interval during which government 
by racial minority having been renounced and government by 
majority still being impracticable, the only possible course will be for 
the British government to strengthen its relaxing control over the country. 
This was the main theme of what will have struck many people as the 
surprisingly moderate and statesmanlike speech of Mr. Bevan in the 
Commons debate on 6th June. The government has all the apparatus 
for this in its Colonial Office and Overseas Service. Of course there are 
·defects in the system, but a defective system is better than an advance 
towards catastrophe. And defects can be remedied. The Colonial 
Office cannot continue much longer unchanged in a changing Commonwealth. 
New forms of organisation may be needed. It will be necessary, 
for example, to link closely the trained staff needed in Kenya to carry 
out the recommendations of the Royal Commission with those associations 
and agencies in Britain which could stimulate both the science and 

the administration of these new measures. 

In other words, during this interval, some selected and modified 

elements of the new concept of 'integration' should be applied. The 

traditional links between metropolis and colony were forged in a period 

when Kenya was not within twenty-four hours flying time from London, 

and when the rapid economic and cultural advancement of a tribal people 

was not the first item of policy. A strong Secretary of State, relieved 

of some of his present impossible burden, and a strong governor who 

could win the trust of all races in his sense of justice, would be essential 

to the success of this regime of arbitral imperialism. 

Economic and Social Development 

It seems certain that the Africans would agree to this strengthening 
of British control and even welcome it. I believe that Mr. Mathu, so 
long the chief African spokesman in Legislative Council, would be 
in favour. Mr. Mboya says as much though he does not show here the 


emphasis which l believe represents his views. There is, of course one 
condition for African assent. It is that in this interval, which in Kenya's 
condition must be long, the British government, and through its governor 
while it retains the overriding control in Kenya, should set to work 
with all its energy to advance African education and especially to help 
Africans. not only in schools and universities, but by training on the job, 
to undertake increasing responsibilities of all kinds. 

This will cost money. The emergency has been very costly to the British 
taxpayer. A further considerable sum has been granted from Britain 
for African agriculture. Another sum of three or four million pounds 
should be given for African education, jn the sense described, and especially 
for still greater facilities for higher education both in East Africa 
and Britajn. The Royal Technical College is not enough. It is more 
than time to begin making plans for the foundation of a full University 
in Nairobi which could be the focus of study and research for all races 
and a source of common pride. I believe that it is impossible to overestimate 
the healing effect all this would have upon the minds of Africans 
who, once reassured about their ultimate political future, and relieved 
of their fear of settler rule, would respond both in co-operation with the 
government and in happier personal relations with the other races. It 
would also avert the dangers hanging over East African co-operation. It 
is the fear of association with a settler-dominated Kenya which has 
always governed African opinion in Uganda and Tanganyika. 

Guaranteeing Legitimate Rights 

There would be another side to Britain's responsibility in this 
interim period. It would be to guarantee the racial minorities in all 
·their legitimate rights. Certainly much depends upon the definition of 
the adjective. On the burning question of the highlands the proposal 
of the Royal Commission, to which Mr. Mboya refers, of opening up 1unused land to buyers irrespective of race, but under very stringent 
~conditions of good farming, seems reasonable and has been recognised 
as such .by some settlers. It is, of course, only part of a policy of 
gradually freeing economic life from ,tribalism, black, brown and white. 
But not the settlers only, but all the immigrant peoples of Kenya, including 
the oldest immigrants of all, the coastal Ara,bs, would need to be 
reassured that their rights and interests would be the special care of 
Britain during the long period before the country passed over to majority 
rule. And though, of course, the old feverish counting of heads in 
Legislative Council would lose its exacerbating significance, adequate 
representation of all groups and interests would be one of the main safeguards 
Britain would guarantee. 

IV 


To return to Mr. Mboya's pamphlet, the possibilities I have sketched 
·would seem to be in line with his own ideas. But, as I said at the 
beginning, I have not used this foreword to discuss Mr. Mboya's specific 
proposals but have endeavoured to suggest a general approach to the 


problem of Kenya. If l have dealt in generalisations it is not because 
I think that the detailed working out of such a programme would be easy. 

Let me say again that my introducing this pamphlet does not mean 
that I endorse all its proposals. I think the writer underestimates the 
difficulties which Africa's long isolation has bequeathed to us in his 
people's poverty, ignorance and disunity. But let us remember that 
this backwardness is so continuously reiterated by white settlers in Africa 
as a justification for permanent domination that African leaders may 
regard it as unnecessary to intone in unison with this depressing chorus. 
They know the meaning of backwardness all too well but they know also 
that what their people most need to overcome it is hope and not a 
dangerous despair with its temptation to a revival, such as Mau Mau 
exhibited, of a corrupted savagery. 

The British Record 

Even allowing for this I think that Mr. Mboya might have shown more 
realisation of the difficulty of his proposals. There is also too little of 
the sense of history which reveals to us that domination of the weak by 
the strong has been the almost universal practice of the human race and 
that, insofar as Britain has failed in Kenya, it has been in applying those 
high standards of in1perial altruism which the world owes mainly to her 
initiative. And though there have been mistakes in Kenya made byboth settlers and government -a government for which we in Britain 
are ultimately responsible -there has been also a wealth of energetic 
and practical good will towards the African shown on many sides, 
certainly by large numbers of settlers. These services have been greatly 
.increased both in range and in vigour during the last few years and if, 
as he rightly says, this has been largely due to the emergency, at least 
government and settlers h~d the wisdom to learn much from that experience. 
Probably never in the history of colonial empires has such a 
wealth of intelligent concern and dedicated service been given to the 
needs of a native people as is being given today in Kenya. This must be 
set on one side of our picture to balance the figures on the other, the 
murdered and massacred, the thousand and more sent to the hangman 
and the 50,000 behind the wires. 

As for the handling of that emergency, it is salutary that the writer 
should help us to realise how repressive measures are seen and felt 
from the African side and should remind us of the many injustices or 
even atrocities committed in the name of law and order. But we mayquestion whether he has fully weighed, as a people with long experience 
of government must do, the absolute necessity of that same law and 
order, the gravity of the threat to it and the perilous inadequacy of the 
powers and personnel of the state in the earlier days of the Mau Mau 
movement. But these are the kind of lessons which can be learned only 
by the exercise of responsibility. And the dangers of sharing that responsibility 
with African leaders, especially when they can act with the 
authority they will draw next year from election, are far less, I would 
urge, than the dangers of shutting them outside the circle within which 
are taken the decisions which govern their lives. 


Towards Real Self-Government 


As I write, the speeches being made at Salima at the Capricorn Society 
conference are urging the peoples of East Africa to think of themselves 
as fellow-citizens rather than as con1peting races. The conference itself 
is a noble venture in racial association and many of us who are not 
members will agree that the future welfare of East Africa depends upon 
the measure in which thousands of personal inter-racial relationships can 
be infused with unselfishness and mutual understanding. We must hope, 
indeed, that not only European but African and Indian leaders, in the 
testing situation which now faces them in Kenya, will ignore the insults 
of extremists and show the utmost restraint and understanding of the 
difficulties of the other side. 

But I venture to disagree with the Capricorn Society upon two important 
points. One is that, like Mr. Mboya, I believe that the races are 
more likely to understand each other and to work together if the fact 
that Kenya is primarily an African country and must work towards a 
constitution founded squarely upon the fact, is not veiled in concepts 
of 'multi-racialism' or qualitative citizenship. The second disagreement 
is that though ultimately, of course, the future of Kenya will be decided 
in Kenya, there must first be a period of graduation towards self-government. 
During this period I believe that the races will best n1ake the 
deep adjustments demanded from them if they are relieved from their 
mutual fears and given a sense of security. There is only one source 
from which Kenya could draw a security in which all the races could 
trust, and that is Britain. 

MARGERY PERHAM. 


1. Introduction 
I
I
N ORDER to avoid any misunderstanding I wish to make plain the 
convictions which underlie the analysis of the situation in Kenya 
and the proposals which are made in this pamphlet. These can perhaps 
be listed briefly. 
1. The fundamental equality of all men, regardless of race, colour, 
sex or creed. 

2. That the purpose of society is to enable all individuals to live in 
amity together and to co-operate for their common g9od. 
3. That government exists to serve the individuals in society. 
4. That therefore the state should be so organised as to enable the 
maximum individual freedom consistent with equal freedom for others. 
5. That the only way in which these precepts can be implemented is 
by each individual participating in his own government on terms of 
equality with all other individuals in the society. 
This means that I reject any concept of race superiority, that I reject 
any concept of racial group rights or duties within a state -acceptingonly individual rights and duties, and that I believe that each individual 
must have an equal opportunity to develop himself and his potentialities. 

Political Principles 

For these reasons I accept the political philosophy of democracy, in 
which each individual has an equal voice in the choice of his government 
and an equal opportunity freely to express his opinions on its actions. 
I accept the principle of the rule of law and the equality of all citizens 
before the law. I accept also the necessity to organise the economy of 
the country so as to enable everyone to live a full life without fear of 
hunger, and without being forced by poverty to accept the domination 
of any other individual or group of individuals. 

These are ideals and very far from the practice in Kenya today. But 

I believe that by accepting them as our objective we hall liberate all 

the people of that country for the service of their fellow men. The 

purpose of this pamphlet is to offer a means through which this new 

freedom can be achieved. The propo al contained in it are directed 

again t no individual or group of individuals. They are not pro-African 

or anti-European. They seek to offer a means whereby the present lack 

of individual freedom, both political and economic, can be brought to an 

end without suffering or violence. 

Unfortunately the present social and political structure of Kenya society 

is such that an examination of the situation there, and proposals for its 

amendment, have forced the discussion into racial terms. This is not of 

my seeking, and I look forward to the time when this is no longer neces


ary; when individual variety exists within the state without group cia si


fication. It is my hope that this pamphlet wi11 contribute to the attainment 

of that objective. 


2. The Background 
JN SEPTEMBER 1956 Kenya faces its first General Election since the 

Emergency was declared in 1952. It will be the first election since 
the Multi-racial form of government was adopted and the first election 
at which the Africans will elect their representatives to the Legislative 
Council. · It will take place at a time when the physical conflict with 
Mau Mau is almost at an end, and action must be taken to ensure future 
permanent peace and stability. This will be an urgent question; any 
attack on the poverty of Kenya through economic development is 
dependent on the presence of a stable political atmosphere which is 
non-existent in Kenya today. 

These events make it necessary for all those concerned to take stock 
of the present situation. Such an examination will provide an opportunity 
to determine what steps are necessary to alter the direction in 
which Kenya is travelling, and should give guidance as to the best means 
of achieving permanent peace and political stability. 

Absent: a Policy 

The tragedy of the situation is the absence of any agreed objective 
either within Kenya or in the United Kingdom. But it is imperativethat a clear and definite policy should be adopted if Kenya is to be saved 
from chaos. Such a policy must be consistent, so that constructive work 
in one field is not nullified by suspicion engendered in another. 

This pamphlet is designed to spotlight a policy -and the steps leading 
to its implementation -which will lay the basis for a solution to the 
territory's many problems. 

To be able to examine the Kenya situation one must of necessity supply 
a background covering the period prior to the Emergency. Most people 
agree that Mau Mau -apart from being a reflection of the failure of 
British colonial policy in Kenya -is the child of the political, economic 
and social frustrations experienced by the African people prior to 1952. 

The weakness of the British Government and its failure to check the 
increasing political dominance of the Settlers, resulted in the creation of 
a social structure in which the white settler established himself in a 
superior position, with the Asian providing the middle-class and the 
African the lowest social and economic class. Kenya's development 
has in fact been the gradual creation of closely-knit racial units and the 
identification of politics and social differences with these racial units. 

1923 is an important date in Kenya. In that year the Devonshire 
Declaration stated, among other things, that where the interests of the 
indigenous people clashed with those of the immigrant communities, 
those of the indigenous people would be paramount. In practice this 
declaration was never observed, and the interests of the white settlers 
remained predominant. This predominance was furthered by the part 
the white settlers were able to play in the local Legislative Council. 

It was in this year, too, that the Wood-Winterton agreement (which 
would have allowed Indian to buy land) was dropped after the settlers 


had threatened an armed revolt involving the taking over of the administration 
and the kidnapping of the Governor. 

The. Land Problem 

Prominent among African grievances was the question of land. The 
Kikuyu tribe who suffered most, led the protests against the government's 
policy of reserving large tracts of the most fertile land in the Highlands 
for European settlement and allocating other areas as Reserves for 
particular tribes. This policy has always aroused anxiety among Africans, 
especially the Kikuyu. This is seen clearly in a letter from the Kikuyu 
Association published in the Manchester Guardian of 9th August 1928


, We fear that the right of our lands will be lost and liberty of our 

living place will be rejected, and after this we will come into bondage 

of working in settlers' farms for our living place.' 

The White Highlands in Kenya politics have been looked upon not 
only as unfair economic policy but also as a symbol of European 
supremacy. The reservation of over 12,000 square miles of land for 
Europeans has in the past been justified on the grounds that it is 
important for Kenya's economic progress. Despite African protests the 
1933 Carter Commission Report asserted and confirmed this principle. 

European settlers have come to regard the White Highlands as a right, 
and not a privilege. Consequently every proposal which seeks to amend 
the exclusive European reservation of this land is opposed. Even today, 
after the Royal Commission's1 recommendations, many settlers will not 
see the folly of their attitude. So much so that when the Troup Committee2 
revealed that more than 50 per cent. of the Highlands was not 
fully developed, the settlers and the Kenya Government responded by 
saying that it was necessary to bring in more European settlers -never 
an African farmer. 

Before the war, Africans growing cash crops such as coffee, tea, 
pyrethrum, etc. were discriminated against. In the immediate post-war 
.year progress was slow. Coffee growers' licences are issued by the 
Director of Agriculture for a specific number of trees, usually about 100. 
and the rule~ relating to good husbandry are strict. The number of 
African growers has increased from 15,019 in 1953 to 24,486 in 1955, 
and the total acreage from 3,867 to 7,511. In yield per acre and in 
quality African coffee has proved superior to European and commands 
a higher price. The Native Lands Tea Rules, 1953, regulate the growing 
of tea in the same manner as coffee, except that the licence fee is paidon 1,000 trees instead of 100. The price paid to the African farmer for 
maize is lower than that paid to the European, as the African District 
Council levy cesses on agricultural produce, part of which is used by 
African District Councils for expenditure on schools, hospitals, etc., and 
part is paid into the Agricultural Betterment Funds for assistance to 
African farmers. Whilst African farmers have definitely benefited 
through better marketing and storage, the use of the cess, as an indirect 

1 East Mrican Royal Commission 1953-1955 Report. 
2 Kenya Inquiry into the General Economy of the Highlands by L. G. Troup,
Nairobi, 1953. 



form of taxation~ has been widely criticised. Differences in the regulations 
controlling the conditions of the growing of cash crops and differences 
in price paid for produce have inevitably been interpreted as racial 
discrimination benefiting the Europeans. 

Racial Discrimination 

Together with discriminatory practices on the land, the government 
have given aid and recognised schools, hospitals and residential areas, 
etc., established on a racial basis. Liquor laws made it an offence to 
sell or serve an African with European liquor. Today an African can 
buy non-spirituous liquor, but it is still an offence to sell spirits to him. 
In towns municipal bye-laws were enacted restricting trade and movement 
of Africans in certain areas after specified hours. 

Always Europeans advanced excuses to justify these practices. To 
add to these frustrations in the pre-war years Post Offices, some shops 
and hotels practised discrimination against the African. All this applied 
as much to Africans educated in Western universities -a fact which 
makes nonsense of the suggestion that the discrimination was a cultural 
bar and not a colour bar. 

The Government was party to all these practices. It either enacted 
legislation promoting discrimination or failed to legislate against it. Thus 
Africans identified the government with the practices, and the Government 
itself became a symbol of European supremacy and domination. 

In industry Africans were paid starvation wages, based on the basic 
minimum necessities for one individual.1 In agricultural areas the squatter 
system, which is similar to the feudal system operated in England in 
the Middle Ages, but does not include serfdom, was and is still operated. 
Housing in municipal areas consisted of little more than slums. Where 
permanent houses were built, the principle was to provide a 'bed-space'and not a home. Family life is stiii impossible in most of the towns . 

. For the few African professional men a~d skilled craftsmen there was 
the humiliation of being paid salaries lower than those earned by their 
European or Asian counterparts. Thus an African university graduate 
would earn less than an Asian with the same qualifications and the Asian 
less than a European. This applied even when the jobs were identical 
and carried the same responsibilities. This was, until 1955, the practice 
in the Civil Service as well as in private industry. 

Recent Changes 

It is true that some important changes are now being encouraged. The 
liquor laws have been modified; a few Africans now live in some areas 
which were previously strictly European or Asian; the Government in 
1955, introduced non-racial salaries and conditions in the Civil Service; 
and some hotels in Nairobi have relaxed their colour bar practices. It is 

East African Royal Commz'ssion Report, 1955. Chapter 15, A, page 146 "(
a) the general level of wages is low; (b) even where there is minimum wage 
legislation, as in Kenya, the basis of the statutory minimum has been taken to 
be the requirements of a single male adult worker with a very small margin above 
physical subsistence;" (See Appendix II). 


true, too, that the Swynnerton Plan (largely financed by the United 
Kingdom) is aimed both at improving the standard and at accelerating 
the pace of development of African agriculture. Also, following the 
recommendations of the 1953 Carpenter Committee, changes in the 
structure of the minimum wage calculations aim to convert wages to an 
amount capable of supporting a family, and housing projects will aim 
at creating a home. 

It is unfortunate that most of these changes were not encouraged 
earlier, because it can now be argued that it is the outbreak of Mau Mau 
which has resulted in creating this new attitude to African problems. 
This contention is intensified because the African knows that even the 
most liberal of the European leaders continue to pledge themselves to 
defend the sanctity of the White Highlan9s, to maintain separate schools 
and hospitals, and to maintain European domination in the Legislative 
Council and all other governmental institutions, including municipal 
authorities. 

•

European Supremacy Remains 

The principle of European supremacy remains basically unchanged. 
In the Legislative Council the principle of parity has been maintained on 
the basis of equality between European Elected Members on the one 
hand, and the Non-European Members on the other-the African 
Members being nominated. Thus the Europeans are still in a position 
to ensure that their interests are paramount. 

While European politics have been unhindered in their development, 
African political organisation has been hampered and discouraged.
African political organisations were looked upon with suspicion long 
before Mau Mau, and the leaders dubbed ' irresponsible trouble-makers '. 
The contact between European and Africans has been limited to the 
relationship of Master and Servant, or Teacher and Schoolboy. 

What has been written so far is intended to draw attention to some 
of the factors that have affected the African attitude. I do not overlook 
the many advantages that Kenya, and indeed the African community, 
have gained t}:uough their contact with European settlers and the Missionaries. 
If it were possible to justify paternalistic government, then 
indeed the Kenya Europeans could use the advantages they have brought 
the African as a cover for their failure in other fields. But oligarchic 
government is discredited in the western world and gives no justification 
for the shortcomings of the dominant Europeans in relation to the 
' civilisation ' of which they claim to be the representatives. 


J. State of Emergency 
T
T
HERE can be no question but that Mau Mau is the direct consequence 
of accumulated frustrations and grievances among the 
Africans over many years. Psychologists may offer reasons why the 
Mau Mau ceremonjes were primitive and barbaric, but these explain 
the form of the revolt and not the causes of it. It is absurd to represent 
Mau Mau as merely the result of too rapid a transition from primitive 
life to a modern complex society, or as a reversion from Christianity to 
barbarism. 

The brutal murders and other acts of violence and terrorism commieed 
by Mau Mau cannot be excused, nor justified by this frustration suffered 
under British rule and settler domination. In the eyes of the majority 
of Africans these acts of violence will for ever remain condemned. Nor 
can one overlook the imn1ense difficulties under which the administration 
and men1bers of the Security Forces have had to carry out the task 
of restoring law and order. These facts are stated now and will be 
referred to later, so as to 1nake it quite clear that there is no illusion 
in my attitude to the Emergency, and to the measures taken by the 
Government in the prosecution of it. While appreciating the foregoing 
and also the courage of the many people who have opposed violence, 
one cannot overlook the fact that in view of the frustrations suffered by 
Africans, a violent reaction is understandable even if it is not justifiable 
and one must therefore draw attention to effects of the methods used 
in the prosecution of the emergency, on future relationships in Kenya. 

Consequences of Mao Mao 

To Africans Mau Mau does not represent a struggle of differing 
factions among the Kikuyu people. All Africans, regardless of tribe, 
are agreed on the need to eliminate European dominance, generally to 
improve the social and economic conditions of the African, and to establish 
his political rights. Many Africans detest and condemn Mau Mau, 
but hardly any of them sympathise with the government against which 
it is struggling. This means that essentially the permanent solution to 
Kenya's problems lies in the political and not the military sphere. 

Although the physical conflict is almost ended, an examination of the 
methods used by the Government is necessary, for these inevitably 
affect the attitude of the African people to the present Government. 
The irregularities committed by members of the Security Forces, in 
particular the Horne Guard and the Kenya Police Reserve, wi11 not 
quickly be forgotten. The comment of Mr. Justice Cramm clearly brings 
out conditions which have created hostility to the Government during 
this period: 


'The Kikuyu Home Guard is an illegal body. Looking at the 

evidence there exists a system of Guard Posts manned by Headmen 

and Chiefs and there are Interrogation Centres and Prisons to 


which the Queen's subjects, whether innocent or guilty, are led by 

armed men without warrant and detained and, as it seems, tortured 

until they confess to alleged crimes, and are then led forth to trial 

on the sole evidence of these confessions -it is time that this court 

declared that any such system is constitutionally illegal and should 

come to an end, and these dens be emptied of their victims and 

those chiefs exercising arbitrary power checked and warned . . . '1 

(Following this the Home Guard was made legal).

Reference to the handling of the Emergency will necessarily be brief 
and limited to some of the more important aspects. 

Collective Punishment 

It will suffice to give a few examples of the collective punitive measures 
adopted by the Government in the course of the Emergency. 
Firstly, the confiscation of cattle and property in the Nyeri district, 
a process later repeated in other areas. 

Secondly, the mass eviction of Kikuyu, Embu and Meru labour from 
the Rift Valley Province. By this eviction thousands of workers who 
had lived in the Highlands for many years and lost all contact with the 
Kikuyu Reserves were forcibly removed and sent back despite the 
existing over-population there. They were removed from the only source 
of livelihood they possessed and no alternative was provided. Neither 
were proper arrangements made for feeding or comfort on the journey. 
The Government ignored warnings by both Africans and Europeansthat these evictions would only help create a recruiting pool for the 
Mau Mau. 

Then there was the eviction of over 700 families from the Eastleigh 
area of Nairobi on 1st November 1953. Despite the pleading of the 
Trade Unions hundreds of workers found themselves without homes and 
jobs. They were on the streets; but not for long. Either they were 
arrested for being without shelter, or the relatives and friends who offered 
them shelter were arrested and charged under municipal bye-laws for 
giving shelter to unauthorised persons. It is difficult to imagine a more 
impossible situation in which to place a person and still expect him to be 
loyal to the Government. 

Other measures included the closing down of African markets, and 
the locking of African houses or residential areas for periods ranging 
from a few weeks to several months, by order of the District Commissioner. 
The passes which all members of the Kikuyu, Embu, and Meru 
tribes had to carry in towns were often cancelled without any stated 
reason. Against these decisions no appeal was possible. Lastly, all 
the men of these three tribes, regardless of their attitude to Mau Mau, 
were made to pay a special tax. 

Probably the most important argument against collective punishment 

is that many innocent people are made to suffer. The Government 

argued that collective punishment was necessary because crimes were 

committed and no one volunteered information. They worked on the 

1 Mr. Ju tice Cramm of the Supreme Court of Kenya in a judgment reported 
on 5th May 1955 in East Africa and Rhodesia. 


principle that the people should be niore afraid of the Government than 
they were of the Mau Mau. . Needless to say this attitude only helped 
to justify the tand of Mau Mau in the eyes of those innocent Africans 
who had been unjustly punished. 

Arbitrary Arrests 

To indicate what happened during mass arrests I have chosen a myexample one that will never be forgotten throughout Kenya's history. 
It was on Saturday, April 24th 1954, when Africans in the offices, shops 
and factories in the central part of Nairobi had already started working. 
Suddenly the streets were full of lorry loads of soldiers with machine 
guns and automatics. Cordons were thrown around the whole area and 
then began the biggest sweep in the Emergency -Operation Anvil here 
is my own experience of the sweep. 

' 

Leaving several colleagues in my office in the first floor of Kundi 
Building, I went down to the street. Within a few seconds I was 
challenged by a ..oldier pointing a gun at me. I raised my hands 
above my head as ordered and walked to him. He gave me a 
shove with the butt of his gun and ordered me to walk on. I was 
taken to a street island where other Africans were already sitting, 
and ordered to squat down. I noticed that some of the people in 
the group were marked with paint all over their faces. Later I 
learnt that these people were either hesitant when called upon to 
stop or were found in what the soldiers regarded as suspiciouscircumstances. 

For hours we waited until we were ordered into a lorry and driven 
to a reception camp which was cordoned by barbed wire. Here 
we again squatted for hours. Then we were lined up and European 
police officers asked each of us his tribe and separated us accordingly. 
Those of us who were non-Kikuyu were led out of the camp 
by a European officer, who told us we were free to go home but 
warned us not to come back into the cordoned area. 

I relate this story so as to show exactly the process used in the mass 
arrest that took place on that day. No questions asked, no names given. 
I learnt later that, by an order of the Governor, all Africans in Nairobi 
were technically under arrest unless freed or exempted.

While waiting for me in my office, my colleagues -most of whom were 
Kikuyu -were surprised by the sudden entry of two European Police 
Reserve Officers. One of them asked to see their identity cards while 
the other went out into the corridor to continue the search of the premises. 
A few minutes later a shot was heard; Jonathan Njenga, one of the trade 
unionists in the office, collapsed in his chair. The European Officer 
in the corridor had fired through the dividing cardboard wall. This was 
no accident. Nothing could explain this incident, for he could just as 
easily have shot his colleague who was at the time in the office questioning 
the trade unionists. 

When Jonathan was carried to hospital he was classified as a terrorist. 
It was only after protests by the Federation of Labour that Jonathan was 
reclassified and sent to an ordinary civilian ward. But for this inter



vention Jonathan would have left the hospital straight into a detention 
camp -no questions asked. 

Later the Officer concerned in this shooting incident was identified at 
a parade; he admitted having fired the shot, but was never committed 
to trial. For all we know he may by now be holding a higher rank in 
the police force! It took over 12 months pressure by the Federation 
of Labour, the I.C.F.T.U., and the British T.U.C. to get the Kenya 
Government to pay Jonathan compensation for the injury done. Irregularities 
of this kind were not infrequent.

All the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru trade-unionists found in my office on 
this day were sent to screening camps. Some of them are still detained. 

Social Problems Created 

The Kenya Federation of Labour raised ·with the Government both 
the grievances about screening methods, and the various social problems 
that arose out of 0 peration Anvil and other mass arrests. Only the more 
important of these can be mentioned here. 

(i) The difficulties facing .families and dependants when the breadwinner 
was arrested. The help of such organisations as the Red Cross 
was valuable, but it was a large problem. The State was the only body 
that could meet it adequately and the number of children found sleeping 
in market places, inside old motor-car bodies and in empty houses grew 
every week. The Government rounded up these children every week 
and sent them back to the Reserves, but, inadequate provision having 
been made for them there, it was not long before they found their way 
back into Nairobi. Even today this problem remains acpte, despite the 
inadequate attempt by the Government to provide some form of institution 
for such children, and to make provision for the wives of arrested 
men. 
(ii) There was the question of loss of housing, jobs and security of 
employment already earned. The Federation of Labour demanded that 
the Government guarantee the rehousing and reinstatement without loss 
of seniority of all workers who had been detained while awaitingscreening. Some were detained for months, losing all their wages. The 
possession of a house and a job were made a condition of the return of 
any of these people into Nairobi. 
Doubtful 'Screening' Methods 

(iii) The arrested people were not given time to meet their families 
or arrange for the safety of their property -for which the Government 
accepted no responsibility. It was not until a few months later that 
wives, relatives and employers were able to obtain information regarding 
the arrested persons. The position was complicated still further by the 
fact that women at home were also arrested and sent back to the Reserves 
or to screening camps, s~metimes leaving their young children in the 
town. 
Throughout the Emergency, the Federation of Labour had been 
critical of the screening methods and endeavoured to point out the in



justices being committed. The Federation drew attention to the fact 
that screening teams from the Reserves were not in a position to condemn 
men who had been living away from the area for many years, some of 
whom were completely unknown to the team. There was also the 
prevalence of corruption. Arising out of 0 per at ion Anvil the Federation 
of Labour was able to put forward concrete cases of apparent miscarriage 
of justice. 

Thirty-nine trade union leaders were arrested in 0 peration Anvil. 
Most of them had been classified ' black ' after screening -and thus 
committed to permanent detention. Among them were men who had 
been screened only a few days before and cleared; three had returned 
from a Trade Union tour of Britain only a few months earlier and, 
since they had been allowed to leave the country during the Emergency, 
there was reason to believe they must have been subject to investigation. 
Lastly it was not logical to believe that such leading personalities President, 
Treasurer and Members of the General Council of the Federation 
of Labour -who were constantly under the scrutinizing eyes of 
Kenya's secret police should be discovered as having association with 
Mau Mau only after a mass sweep! Either there was something wrong 
with the Intelligence Service or something was wrong with the screening 
methods. 

For two months the Federation kept pressing its case and nothing 
happened. At last the Ministry of Labour decided to send the Industrial 
Relations Officer and his Assistant into the three camps -Langata,
Mackinon Road, and Manyani -to find out what had happened to 
the trade unionists. Despite repeated demands by the Federation for a 
copy of the Report submitted to the Government, it has never been 
made available. 

Injustice and Frustration 

dn July 12th 1954, however, the Minister of Labour announced that 
the Governor had issued instructions for all trade union leaders to be 
rescreened and for all previous decisions on them to be disregarded. 
This was a plain admission by the Government that something was wrong 
with the screening methods. After the re-screening, seventeen out of 
thirty-nine trade union leaders were released. 

Following this incident the Federation demanded that the position of 

all the people detained be re-examined. This demand was not then 

accepted by the Government. It has been confessed several times by 

government officials that the numbers of arrested persons is so large that 

it would take too long for either the system used in re-screening trade 

unionists, or a court trial, to be applied in all cases. Thus the basic 

elements of justice have been ignored for the sake of expediency. 

So .far as the detained persons are concerned, the Government set up 

an Appeals Tribunal which functions on the principle that the detainee 

has to prove his innocence. He is allowed no representation by counsel 

and in his memorandum he has to show cause why he should not be 

detained. He is not confronted with the hostile witnesses. 

It is obviou that one of the problems which will have to be dealt 


with in the future is the sense of injustice and frustration among innocent 
people. For those who have been tried on various charges and have been 
found guilty, the severe sentences passed will themselves cause bitterness 
and future problems. Young girls and persons alleged to be below 18 
years of age have been sentenced to more than seven years hard labour, 
or to indeterminate sentences. The effect of this can be imagined. 

Rehabilitation is today looked upon as the answer to the problem of 
reabsorption of detained persons into society. Rehabilitation methods 
are based on the principle of re-education. They aim at educating the 
detainees to accept and live a Christian civilised life. It is also the aim 
to show the detainees that violence is a negative and useless method to 
secure change in society. Thus rehabilitation, if and when accomplished, 
would bring out persons looking forward to an ideal . standard of life 
in surroundings conducive to the practice of Christianity and western 
civilisation, and to a society where they can effectively take part in the 
direction of their lives. But the truth is that these conditions do not 
exist in Kenya. Essentially therefore, rehabilitation must be accompanied 
by effective social and political changes or, in the long run, it will proveto . be worthless expenditure, and may in fact intensify the feeling of 
frustration which was one of the basic causes of Mau Mau. 

Some of the Africans in detention today have been acquitted by the 
courts but rearrested immediately on suspicion. Rehabilitation methods 
are being applied to these people; attempts are made to secure confessions 
about alleged crimes, with promise of release being held out as an inducement. 
Refusal to confess is not regarded as an indication of innocence 
and all possible pressure is put upon the detainee to comply with the 
Government's wishes. It is known that in some cases the poverty and 
difficulties of the family of the detained person has been u"sed as a means 
of trying to obtain an admission of guilt. For obvious reasons therefore, 
Kikuyu, Meru and Embu tribesmen believe that the best way to secure 
relea~e is to ' confess '. Thus a confession has ceased to have any 
meanmg. 

Rule of Law? 

The non-acceptance of the rule of law can no longer be disguised or 
ignored. African leaders and some liberal-minded Europeans have for 
a long time tried to draw attention to the constant abuse of power by 
members of the Security Forces. But their efforts have been generally 
unsuccessful. 

The system of district government, coupled with Emergency Powers, 

has resulted in a confusion of administrative, police and magisterial 

powers -all of which are possessed by each District Commissioner. 

There are three obvious and fundamentally important dangers in con


sequence: 

(a) The appearance of impartial judgment by a District Commissioner 
in Kenya is impossible, and the practice excessively 
difficult. 
(b) Appeals against atrocities committed by members ofthe Security 
Forces have little chance of being properly investigated. 

(c) The excessive powers held by the bistnct Commissioners could 
easily be abused and in fact have sometimes been so. (This is shown 
in the Kamau Gichina case-the District Officer involved was only 
relieved of his post after the matter was raised in the House of 
Commons). 
Colonel Young, seconded from the London Metropolitan Police and 
sent to Kenya to re-organise the Police Force, immediately realised the 
ncessity to separate police and administrative powers. Rather than heed 
these warnings, the Government in 1955 adopted a policy of 'Closer 
Administration ' which not only increases the powers of the District 
Commissioners, but also introduces a system of chieftainship into the 
administration of African residential areas of the towns. 

An Investigation Needed 
A thorough investigation into the present administration of justice 
in Kenya is therefore urgent. Arbitrary arrests, detentions, cancellation 
of African passes, have been common occurrences during the Emergency. 
To argue that such actions are purely the result of the strained atmosphere 
in which the authorities have been working, is no excuse for the 
injustices which have been committed. Cases such as the Kamau Gichina 
case have fully illustrated the need for a re-examination of the administrative 
arrangements in Kenya and, in particular, the need for an 
independent police force. 
So far as the villagisation scheme is concerned there is no doubt that, 
because its whole emphasis is on security, the Africans will look on it 
as a political and not a social issue. The development of villages is 
indeed desirable, but when it is forced upon a people, and so identified 
with oppressive measures, it ceases to be of the same value. Further, 
villagisation is being used as another means of controlling African people. 
According to the Emergency Regulation 1956 (Kikuyu, Embu and Meru 
Villages) a permit is needed before a person can move from one village 
to another and anyone may even be ordered to live in a particularvillage. An offence under this law is punishable by a fine of £50 or 
six months imprisonment. Speeches made by European leaders, some 
of whom hold ministerial positions, and orne statements made by the 
Government, show that the future policy is to aim at greater control and 
policing of the Kikuyu people and Africans generally. 
Control and security do not provide a permanent answer to Kenya's 
problems. They are purely negative and do not even meet the causes 
of the present troubles. 

The Kenya African Union 
It is not the intention to argue the rights and wrongs of the Governmenfs 
decision to ban the Kenya African Union on the ground that 
it was implicated in the Mali Mau activities. One thing is certain however; 
the K.A.U. was the only African political organisation in Kenya 
and its banning has left a vacuum. Without an organi ation, with leaders 
behind barbed wire, and political expression suppres ed through government 
policy. the African was left with no organised mean of making 


his views known, either on the prosecution of the Emetgeficy, Oi' on the 
constitutional changes that have taken place since 1952. 

While organised African politics were suppressed until June 1955, 
Europeans apparently were left without any political restraint.1 In fact 
the absence of African political organisations has been used by European 
politicians as an opportunity to make demands aimed at consolidating 
the European position. 

It is probably true that the Government could not allow politics and 
politicians to carry on without some restriction during the Emergency. 
It is, however, questionable whether the restriction should have applied 
only to one race. It is said that African organisations had to be banned 
because of the danger that they would be used to support violent movement 
against the Government, a danger that did not apply to European 
organisations. Events such as the European march on Government 
House in 1953 and attempts to sabotage the surrender terms in 1955, 
do not give much support to this argument. The principle of discrinlinating 
between organisations. on racial grounds is in any case indefensible. 
It would have been better had the Kenya Constitution been suspended 
when the Emergency was declared. 

Outstanding Problems? 

In conclusion it must be repeated that the purpose in drawing attention 
to these aspects of the Emergency is not merely to condemn the methods 
used, but to show their significance and their effects on the future 
development of Kenya. 

From this brief examination of the Emergency it would seem that the 
most important and outstanding problems are: 


(i) 
The future of detainees and plans to give them a new confidence 
in the Government. 
(ii) 
The urgent need to investigate present administration of ju~tice 
and to establish the rule of law. 
(iii) 
The social and economic problems arising out of activities in 
the prosecution of the Emergency. 
(iv) 
The need to plan for the future, so as to eradicate the causes 
of African frustration and to remove the possibility of a recurrence 
of similar troubles. 
The next sections seek to analyse the present political situation and 
make proposals for political stability in which real economic development 
can take place. 

In June 1955 th~ overnment lifted the ban on African political organisation, 
but adopted a pohcy (later enacted into legislation) restricting Mrican politicalorganisations to district level. 


4. The Problem Today 
'JN OTH R word , the interior of the Protectorate i a White 

Man' ountry. Thi being o, I think it i n1er hyp cri y 
not to admit that white intere t mu t be param unt, and that the 
n1ain object f ur policy and legi lation hould be t found a white 
c lony'.1 (p. 103. 

' lo ely connected with European coloni ation i the qu ti n of 

ative right . Thi difficulty i le ened in a t Africa by the 
paucity of the ative population, and I think that the ob tacles 
which it ha been uppo ed to present to uropean ettlement exi t 
in prejudiced imagin tion rather than in reality. Native mu t be 
pr te ted from unju t aggre ion, and be ecured ufficient land for 
their want ; but with thi provi o, I think, we should r cognise that 

uropean interest are paramount '.1 (pp. 309-310). 
Speaking in the Legi lative Council demanding the introduction of 
c mpul ory education for uropean children, Lord Franci Scott said 
on 19th December 1941 that education f r all uropean children was 
nee ary becau e Kenya wa a country of n1ixed race 'where uropeanchildren are eventually going to be in a po ition of authority over other 
race '. 
The 19th January 1956 i ue of East Africa and Rhodesia reports a 
speech made by Mr. Michael Blundell, leader of uropean elected 
member in the Legi lative ouncil and n w one of the uropeanMini ter in the Kenya Government. Speaking to hi European con~
tituents at Njoro on 15th January be is reported as saying: 
'I put before you the principles on which I shall tand in seekingre-election. Fir t, I believe firmly in the continuance of our own 
ideas and influence in this country; secondly, in the gradual development 
of a partnership between the races; and la tly, in a mounting 
insistence upon the economic development of the country ..·.. 
It follows that I want to continue the progre s toward respon ible 
government by increa ing the participation in the Government of 
the country of our own farmers and townsmen '. 

European Dominance Re-stated 

Mr. Blundell is further reported by the East African tandard a ayingto a European audience in Nakuru in March 1956: ' ... He him elf 
stood for the full development and sanctity of the White Highlands .... ' 
On the form of government and European control the journal reports 
Mr. Blundell as saying: 'The present experiment, if ucce ful, was 
the beginning of the transfer of responsibility from the people of Britain 
to the people of Kenya. Of course, there must be a European majority 

These quotations are from the book East Africa Protectorate, written in 1905 
by Sir hades Eliot, K. .M.G., H.M. Commissioner for East Africa Protectorate 
from January 1901 to June 1904. 


and European control ~. He is further reported as saying that he did 
not believe Asian Magistrates should be allowed to try Europeans in a 
British Colony --they should be used entirely for Asian cases. He 
was not in favour of multi-racial hospitals and was also opposed to 
common schools. He is also reported to have said that he believed that 
the time would come when Africans would have to be told ' so far and 
no further '. 

The above quotations reveal the basic problem in Kenya. The concept 
of European superiority is not only advocated but boldly and publicly 
encouraged. This has happened throughout the period 1905-56. The 
Settler mind fron1 1900 to 1956 has been obsessed by this notion; every 
change has been considered in relation to it. 

Kenya's present troubles feed upon racialism and racial politics. It 
is not possible to discuss Kenya politics except in terms of race; ever 
since representation in the Legislative Council was accorded to elected 
Europeans in 1919 and not to other peoples, political arguments have 
centred round racial representation. This is inevitable. Through their 
disproportionate representation in the Legislative Council the Europeans 
have been able more and more to influence government policy. Africans 
consider that the Government has increasingly identified itself with the 
White Settlers as the European organisations have increased their power 
and influence. 

Settlers in the Ascendent 

The extent to which European Settlers have succeeded is evident 
from the political, social and economic structure of the country. In 
the Legislative Council they have larger representation than either the 
Asians or the Africans, despite the fact that they are numerically the 
smallest population of the three. Laws which discriminate againstAfricans in fact -if not in words -are commonplace. Socially and 
economically the African people have been restricted to third place in 
their own country. They believe this to be the result of Settler influence 
in the Legislative Council supporting and endeavouring to perpetuate 
the dominant position of the Europeans in the country. 

The extension of racial discrimination to land policy is perhaps the 
most bitterly resented of all discriminatory practices -and it is government 
policy. Side by side exist the two contrasts. Many Europeans 
own some hundreds of thousands of acres while in some of the African 
areas exists land hunger and over-population, with such land as there is 
often being of poor and unproductive quality. 

This is a big bone of contention in Kenya politics. The Africans accuse 
the Europeans of stealing their land and of reserving for themselves large 
areas in which no African is allowed to own or to manage a farm, while 
the density of population in some of the African Reserves has reached 
staggering figures -up to about 700 people per square mile. 

Today many arguments are being put forward to justify this state of 
affairs. The European condemns African ignorance and inability to 
cultivate land on modern standards. He justifies his own retention of the 
Highlands by pointing to the greater productivity of the areas under his 


control. But he does not point out the advantages he has in education, 
in the possession of capital and in the size of his farm unit, and the 
exclusive opportunities offered him on racial grounds. With regard 
to the complaint about .African farming methods it is relevant to point 
out that Section 36 of the Crown Lands Ordinance lays down that in 
every case 'shall be implied a covenant that he (the European owner 
of land in the Highlands) shall not, without the consent of the Governor 
in Council, appoint or allow a non-European to be manager or otherwise 
occupy or be in control of the land leased' -thus excludingAfricans from gaining managerial experience and the rewards that gowith this grade of job. 

Another factor which is rarely mentioned by the Europeans is that, 
according to the 1954 Agricultural census of the White Highlands,
agriculture is not the main source of income for at least 13 per cent. 
of the owners of commercial farms and 60 per cent. of the owners of 
farms under 500 acres. 

African Labour 

Also it should not be forgotten to what extent the European farmers 
are dependent on African labour. And the measure which have been 
taken in the past to secure sufficient African farm workers are of relevance 
today. 

The 1912-13 East African Protectorate, Native Labour Commission 
was appointed (on the demand of the European Land Holders' Association) 
to inquire into the reasons for the shortage of African labour. 
The evidence is interesting as it again reveals the attitude of the Settlers, 
and of their leader at the time, Lord Delamere. He is reported as saying'If the policy was to be continued that every native was to be a landholder 
of a sufficient area on which to establish himself, then the ques6on 
of obtaining a satisfactory labour supply would never be settled .... 
He considered the soundest policy would be to curtail the Reserves, and 
although it might take a few years before the effect on the labour supply 

1

was apparent, the results would be permanent. '
The Commissioners concluded: 
' The reasons for the shortage of labour we considered from the 
evidence to be the following: The wealth of certain tribes arising 
from the large quantity of land at their disposal, the natural fertility 
of their reserves, the possession of large quantities of stock and the 
profits of trade. It is clearly recognised that there are practically 
no natives who need to work for wages in order to live.' (p. 321). 

It is significant that following the completion of the Commission's 
Enquiry, a Crown Lands Ordinance was passed in 1915. That this and 
other Ordinances and regulations bore the stamp of the general declaration 
made during the Enquiry is shown by extracts from Labour Circular 
No. I, dated 23rd October 1919, and headed 'Native Labour required 
for Non-Native Farms and other Private Undertakings '. It was sent 

Report, pp. 109-110, 


by the Chief Native Commissioner, John Ainsworth, to the District and 
Provincial Commissioners: · 

' ... 2. His Excellency trusts that those Officers who are in charge 
of what is termed labour supplying districts are doing what they can 
to induce an augmentation of the supply of labour for the various 
farms and plantations in the Protectorate, and he feels assured that 
all officers will agree with him that the larger and more continuous 
the flow of labour is from the Reserves the more satisfactory will 
be the relations as between the native people and the settlers and 
between the latter and the government. 

'. . . 4. In continuation of previous communications on this very 
important subject, His Excellency desires to reiterate certain of his 
wishes and to add further instructions as follows: . . . (iii) District 
Commissioners will keep a record of the names of those · Chiefs and 
Headmen who are helpful and of those who are not helpful, and 
will make reports to me fr.om time to time for the information of 
His Excellency. The nature of these reports will be communicated 
to the Chiefs. In cases where there is evidence that any Government 
Headman is impervious to His Excellency's wishes, the fact 
should be reported to me for His Excellency's information together 
with any recommendations you may desire to make. 

'...· 6. It is hoped that the Resident Natives Ordinance 1918 and 
the Natives Registration Ordinance 1915, will soon become operative. 
The provision of these Ordinances should help to ameliorate the 
position. 

'. . . 7. Should the labour difficulties continue it may be necessary 

1

to bring in other and special measures to meet the case ...'

The historical background, illustrated by the above quotations, shows 
clearly the concept of European supremacy and the action taken to 
promote this concept. This is the first part of the problem -the attitude 
of the Europeans to the African people and their desire to establish a 
dominant and privileged position in the government of the country. 

The British Record 

The record of the British Government is the second part of the 
problem. They passively accepted the Settler racial attitude: they even 
allowed Civil Servants to buy land and maintain farms while still in the 
Administration. The British Government could have cl~anged the direction 
of Kenya political development at any time had it wished to do so. 
To the extent that it failed to act, it must bear a share of the responsibility 
for . the outbreak of Mau Mau and the atrocities which have been 
committed by it. 

Today the British Government is using its troops in Kenya. Havingfailed to ensure the creation of democracy the British Government is 
protecting a Settler oligarchy under a supposedly democratic flag. Whilst 

Appendix to Kenya by Norman Leys, Hogarth Press 1924, p. 395. 


it was inevitable that troops had to be sent in when violence broke out, 
and that law and order had to be restored, the British Government must 
now prove that they have learnt the lesson of their past folly. Theymust prove that they recognise the problem. They must use their power 
and authority to check the trends which led to the present situation. In 
other words they must show that their troops will not be used to aid the 
Settlers in their desire to pursue the policy of European domination. 

The problem is clear and any attempts to solve it must uproot the 
causes. Racial discrimination and the frustration it engenders must be 
eradicated. Active steps must be taken to end racial politics, economics 
and attitudes. This will never be achieved while any community feels 
itself to be discriminated against, nor while any community remains in 
a privileged position. This will need determined action. Half measures 
or con1promises on basic principles will aggravate the situation and make 
it impossible to produce a solution. It is a race against time. We cannot 
afford to go slowly as so many opportunities have been thrown away in 
the past fifty years. 

• 



S. Finding the Answer 
T
T
HE OUTBREAK of violence in 1952 shook the British Government 
and most Kenya European politicians out of sleep. Despite warnings 
by prominent British writers and intellectuals of the impending crisis in 
Kenya, many people regarded the outbreak as merely another case 
where Africans should be reminded of the British might. ' Law and Order 
must be re-established '. The cost has been staggering. Thousands of 
lives have been lost, millions of pounds have been spent, and yet there 
is no assurance that permanent peace will be established. 
Slowly the confusion has lifted and the existence of a real problem 
is now accepted. But Kenya has almost reached a point of no return. 
Racial politics have been developed to the stage where fear and suspicion 
reign above everything else. What can be done? The alternatives are 
few. European domination, which would be achieved by the present 
transfer of power from the Colonial Office to Kenya, is no solution. 
It would lead to an exacerbation of the present racial tension and might 
well result in another and worse outbreak of violence. The domination 
of a racial minority gives no security to Kenya, and none to the minority 
itself. It is said to be in recognition of this fact that the concept of 
multi-racialism has developed. 

The Lyttleton Reforms 

Today the term ' multi-racialism ' is used to define the workingtogether of members of various racial groups either in the formation of 
an organi ation or of a government. 

Kenya's first multi-racial government was introduced in April 1954 
after a visit to Kenya by Mr. Lyttleton, at that time Colonial Secretary. · 
The difference between this form of government and the previous one 
lies in the fact that there is now a Council of Ministers in which the 
Unofficial Ministers include persons from each of the three main races. 
The composition of the Unofficial side of the Council is at the moment, 
three European Ministers, all with portfolios; two Asian Ministers, one 
with and the other without portfolio; and one African Minister with portfolio. 
There are eight Official Ministers, i.e. Ministers not drawn from the 
elected or representative members of the Legislative Council. Essentiallytherefore the new government is based on the principle of parity as 
between the Europeans on the one hand and the Non-Europeans on the 
other, on the Unofficial side. 

The 1954 changes reduced the number of Government Civil Servants 
directly responsible for government policy in various important departments 
and thus increased the relative influence of the local Europeans. 
One must therefore ask how far this multi-racial government will solve 
Kenya's political problem. 

Some supporters of multi-racialism have argued that the present form 
of government is an advance because European Settlers have for the 


first time accepted Africans into the Government. They further argue 
that, given time, it will speed up the creation of a liberal European 
opinion that will gradually eliminate racial politics in Kenya. But these 
arguments are basically a confession that the introduction of democracy 
in Kenya will be dependent on how far the local Europeans are prepared 
to permit it. Further they suggest that the British Government has 
still not learnt the lesson of the Emergency and will not intervene 
against the wishes of the Settlers. Neither of these arguments takes 
into account the rise of an African political opinion. 

The local Europeans try to ignore these factors or shrug them off bythe use of emotive terms. They seem to believe that the European 
community will determine both the pattern and the rate of development 
in Kenya. Mr. Blundell, for example, said in his Njoro speech, ' ... 
We (Europeans) shall have a difficult time in dealing with an increasing 
flow of racial emotionalism -and I think this word is better than 
nationalism -among the Africans '. And later, ' The great issue before 
us, a small minority like a flarepath on the vast fields of the African 
continent, is what will be our relations with the African and Asian 
people in 25 years .... ' 1 

What Sort of Relationships? 

In fact the awakening of the African leaves no room for the master f 
servant relations of the past. If there is to be a successful plan for 
Kenya it will only be if the African takes an equal part in its formulation 
and participates fully, freely and effectively in its implementation. 

The impact of external influences makes this inevitable. The approaching 
independence of the West African territories, the independence of 
the Sudan and the changes in Uganda and Tanganyika eliminate any 
hopes of the present form of Kenya government lasting long or being 
a pattern for future development. 

For those who have pinned their hopes on the possible change in 
the attitude of European leaders and the Settler community in general 
there is yet another blow. An analysis of the proposals for constitutional 
change put forward by the European Elected Members Association in 
April 1956 shows that they seek to retain the status quo in the parity 
of European and Non-European representation and , secondly, that they 
seek to increase the influence of local Europeans in the Government of 
Kenya while minimising direct Colonial Office influence. This shows 
that the past attitude and policy of the European politicians is maintained. 

Multi-racial government as it exists in Kenya is founded on the recognition 
of closely knit racial groups. But it does itself tend to perpetuate 
those groupings, and no scope exists for the emergence of democracy. 
Indeed the European leaders speak not of the basic democratic rights 
of individuals but of group rights and group participation. Multi-
racialism must therefore presuppose the existence of groups. Participation 
in the government can then only be in the form of parity representation 
or proportional representation of the various races. Parity can of 
course be of three types; African representation equal to the combined 

East Africa and Rhodesia, 19th January 1956. 


Non-African representation, equal representation of a11 the three main 
races (as in Tanganyika), or European representation equal to the combined 
Non-European representation -as at present in Kenya. But in 
all its forms ' parity ' emphasises race representation. 

Multi-Racialism No Answer 

The objection to multi-racialism must therefore be based on the 
grounds that its existence is dependent on the maintenance of racial 
groups, and as such it is an impediment to the establishment of democratic 
rights. Secondly, the present multi-racial form of government is 
forcing a conflict of politics based on self-preservation. Each group is 
fighting to accumulate gains as a group, and consequently the maximum 
limit to which the minorities are prepared to go is parity between each 
of the three races. To them proportional representation would mean 
African domination just as much as to Africans tl)e present set up means 
European domination. Democracy is unacceptable to the Europeans 
because they think in terms of equating their group participation and 
the participation of the Africans as a group. They are still not concerned 
with individuals, only with races. 

It is perhaps necessary to point out that the current European attitude 
is based on the assumption that the Colonial Office will become a passive 
onlooker. This would betray the Africans' remaining confidence in the 
British Government and strengthen the fear that the Europeans will 
use their powerful position to create a regime similar to that in Southern 
Rhodesia. 

It is obvious from all this that there is no hope that the present 
approach will of itself successfully prepare the way for democracy. 

A Common Electoral Roll 

Coupled with the concept of multi-racialism there is sometimes the 
suggestion of development towards a Common Electoral Roll. A common 
roll would of course be democratic if it were to be based on a 
universal franchise. A common roll as suggested for Kenya, however, 
has been subject to various· qualifications by its advocates. 

There are those who believe that democracy in Kenya should mean 
a common citizenship based on European standards with only such 
people as possess certain wealth, educational and character qualifications 
having the right to vote. This is one of the doctrines of the Capricorn 
Africa Society, and it draws support too from those who talk of 'equalrights for all civilised men '. 

But these suggestions leave no room for democracy, which denotes 
the right of all people to participate in their own government. All men 
should enjoy equal political status regardless of their race, colour, sex, 
creed, or social status. The argument that full democracy is impracticable 
because not all men have developed a sense of responsibility, ignores 
the important question as to who shall be the judge and on what criteria 
judgment is to be based. Does the possession of wealth, academic 
education or other social status conclusively prove that a person is 
politically more responsible than those who lack these things? And what 


is meant by a sense of responsibility? Surely it could be said that the 
South African White voter exercises his vote responsibly because he 
returns a government which is committed to European supremacy?
But from the point of view of the African people, virtually unrepresented 
in the South African Parliament, the Europeans are not using their vote 
responsibly as they are not considering non-European needs and desires. 

The advocates of limited Common Roll make it quite clear that the 
qualifications for voting would be based on European standards of wealth 
and education. This suggests that in fact the Settlers want to stay in 
Africa as Europeans; they wish to make Africa conform to them and 
are not willing to adapt themselves to life in Africa. It may well be 
asked, however, whether the resources of Kenya can uphold a European 
standard for all its inhabitants and if not, how is the wealth to be 
distributed? Will it be on the basis of sharing, or on the basis of 
those with power enjoying comfort at the expense of the powerless 
masses? 

Universal Franchise Essential 

The Capricorn and similar doctrines seek to introduce a new oligarchy 
in which the control of government will, in practice, be in the hands of 
the Europeans. Once again it is no answer to the African demand for 
the creation of a state in which the individual is guaranteed basic 
democratic rights. 

Of course some practical difficulties would arise in trying to introduce 
a limited franchise in Kenya with the existence of adult suffrage for 
Europeans and Asians. This right, with justification, cannot be withdrawn 
nor limited in its exercise. It follows, therefore, that limitation 
can only be applied to the African. As such it can hardly be said that 
the proposal is non-racial. 

A common roll is the answer, but only if it is based on universal 
franchise. There is nothing to be feared in this concept. Democracyin Kenya must guarantee basic individual rights and recognise all 
individual citizens as equals, both before the law and within society. 
The doctrine of equal rights for all should be incorporated in the constitution 
of the country, thus providing for all citizens, whatever their 
race or colour, the security of legal protection against discrimination. 

The Coutts Report 

Although the franchise had been introduced in Kenya in 1919 for the 
European, and later for the Asian, the move to introduce direct elections 
for the African has only come late during the Emergency. 

The recommendations of Mr. Coutts, the Commissioner appointed 
in 1955 to inquire into this matter, as amended by the Government, 
may be summarised as follows: 

(i) That Africans shall have direct elections. 
(ii) 
That the franchise shall be limited to those over 21 and shall 
then depend on the possession of any one of seven listed qualifications. 
These include the attainment of certain educational 

standards, an annual income of £120, long service in the Forces 
or Police, or in Government employment, membership of the 
Legislative Council or local government authority, and Ior 
'meritorious service' as certified by the possession of decorations 
or by the Provincial Commissioner, and long continuous employment 
record in industry or agriculture. 

(iii) Multiple voting will be introduced, with one vote for every such 
qualification up to a maximum of 3 votes for any one person. 
The reason used to justify this ' fancy franchise ' are once again the 
alleged inability of the African to exercise political responsibility due 
to illiteracy and lack of political awareness. Illiteracy cannot be accepted 
by Africans as a justifiable reason since there are countries where 
illiterate voters have successfully used the ballot by devices such as the 
use of pictures instead of names to identify candidates. In Kenya itself 
the illiterate Asian voters have used this device for many years. 

One Man, One Vote 

Theoretically the lack of political awareness may be a justifiable argument 
for restriction of voting rights, . but the questions as to the criteria 
on which judgment is based and who sets up this criteria remain 
unanswered. Even if these points could be overcome no one equidjustify the granting of more than one vote to some persons; a personeither is, or is not, politically conscious and politically capable. Hence 
the need for a multiple vote does not arise. 

However it is not necessary to pursue these points further since Mr. 
Coutts makes no secret of the fact that he has recommended a multiple 
vote in anticipation of the future creation of a common roll. The type 
of common roll he had in mind is not difficult to guess. He obviously 
supports the doctrine of a qualified citizenship. But Mr. Coutts' 
recommendations throw light on what may well happen when this 
common roll is founded. 

Since introduction of a qualitative franchise for the European and 
Asian is out bf the question the only possibility is that when the common 
roll is introduced all European and Asian voters will automatically trans· 
fer to it. The transfer of an African voter with one or two votes would, 
however, make nonsense of the qualifications on the African register. 
Thus it would appear that only those Africans with three votes will be 
transferred to the new Register. But it is evident from the qualifications 
necessary that only a handful of Africans will in fact possess three votes, 
hence they will be ineffective on the common roll. 
· Experien.ce in Southern Rhodesia has shown very clearly how this 
type of common roll can be manipulated by a minority to hold power 
firmly and permanently in its own hands. 

On these grounds the suggested African franchise must be condemned. 
That universal franchise may result in the election of some incompetent 
or self-seeking persons is quite possible, but it can hardly be deniedthat 
this happens now among the ' civilised ' Europeans, and even in Great 
Britain itself. In any case it is only through such mistakes that the 


African will gain experience. Voting . is the only possible way to gain 
voting experience. Adult franchise on the African communal roll is a 
necessary preliminary to any future development of a common roll. 

The Kenya African Union, the only African political organisation, 
was banned in 1953 on allegations of complicity in subversive activity. 
Its leaders had been arrested on the declaration of the Emergency in 
1952. The new leaders, most of whom were non-Kikuyu, were not given 
a chance to prove their line of politics. There was haste-engendered by 
the White Settlers -to silence African political expression. 

Hostility to African Politics 

European Settler attitude to African politics suffers from two handicaps. 
Firstly, because the majority of Europeans believe they know 
best what is good for Africans and secondly because the Europeans 
would like to retain their superiority and hence resent any Africans who 
talk to them as equals. Then there is the overall fear of the threat to 
European domination which strong African political organisation would 
bring with it. From the beginning, therefore, most Europeans have been 
unco-operative and unsympathetic to African politics and politicalorganisations.

Because the Kenya African Union demanded more land for Africans, 
better wages, better housing, better social services, and fought against 
the Kipande system, it was called irresponsible. But it voiced African 
opinion, it was popul~r and so were its leaders. Unfortunately the 

K.A.U. was treated with hostility in government circles. Its meetings 
and activities were restricted, its leadership snubbed. It is hardlysurprising therefore that the K.A.U. and African politics in general took 
a more extreme position. 
As African politics and politicians failed to receive the recognition 
which is essential for the development of ' responsible' politics in any 
country, the blame for their extremism is equally shared by the government 
and the European co1nmunity. It would be interesting, for example, 
to find out how many times, in the course of ten years prior to the 
Emergency, the Governor of Kenya or the leading European politicians 
consulted, met, or discussed Kenya political problems, on equal terms, 
with K.A.U. leaders. The attitude has been to play down the position 
of the popular African leaders and to try to build up government-
appointed chiefs or some other African who is prepared to become, a 
yes man. This was comparatively easy in the absence of elected African 
Members of the Legislative Council. But real African leaders can only 
be those who are accepted as such by the Africans themselves. 

Control and Restriction 

The Government's present policy towards African politics is based on 
the principle of control. It restricts Afr:ican political organisation to a 
district level and requires these District Associations to declare in their 
constitutions that their activities will concern only the interests of Africans 
in their own areas. It legislates against the formation of National organisations 
and forbids the expression by any African or partly African 
organisation, from making political statements or engaging in political 


activities ort anational level. Because of the experience with the K.A.U., 
it is argued, the government cannot afford to take a chance with national 
political organisations. 

But the solution to Kenya's problems requires that Africans have a free 
and effective say in whatever policies are to be implemented. This can 
only be accomplished through an effective political organisation. The 
answer therefore lies in giving Africans freedom of association and 
political expression and in recognising African political leaders and 
political organisations. 

Economic Development a Priority 
Kenya's need for rapid economic development is urgent. Today this 
needs external capital. It is suggested in some quarters that this capital 
can only be induced by the presence of a European-led government. 
It is, however, certain that the imposition of a European-controlled 
government on an unwilling people will result in political instability, 
which might jeopardise the country's ability to attract outside investors. 
It is possible that the emergence of a predominantly African Government 
would, in the initial stages, slow up the pace of external investment. 
The choice, however, is between carrying on with the present form of 
government, despite the political consequences, or facing the issue now. 
There is no doubt that once there is political stability and securityinvestors will not care about the skin colour of those who man the 
government.
Economic development in Kenya should consist of concrete pro-
grammes with targets on the lines of the Indian Five Year Plan. These 
must aim at improving the country and the people as a whole, and not 
just a few individuals. 
But the implementation of all economic plans in Kenya will depend 
as much on political as on economic considerations. This applies to 
the recommendations of the East Africa Royal Commission Report 1955, 
which is in itself a political document. Almost all its proposals are 
matters of political controversy. 
It is not possible to discuss the economic problems and needs of 
Kenya in this pamphlet. We are conscious of them but realise that 
social and economic development are matters controlled by Government 
legislation. While the African does not wield effective political power 
his social and economic development will always be subject to the 
generosity of those who govern. It is therefore on the political aspect 
that we must first concentrate. A glance at the 1956 Kenya Budget 
emphasises this need. Twenty per cent. of Government revenue is 
allocated to the 'maintenance of law and order' and only twenty-five 
per cent. for all social ·services -thus again putting the emphasis on 
control. 

' 36 



6. Programme for Reform 
T
T
HE FOREGOING chapters have outlined the problems that face 
Kenya today. We have also tried to examine critically the efforts now 
being made to solve them. 11le basic facts which must be faced if we 
are to solve these problems are: 

(i) 
The recognition of Kenya as an African country. The population 
is made up of 5-i million Africans, 45,000 Europeans and 
150,000 Asians. 
(ii) 
European domination is not conducive to the future goodrelations of the Africans and the immigrant people who wish to 
make their homes in Kenya. 
(iii) 
The maintenance of group interests is incompatible with the 
development towards recognition of basic individual democratic 
rights. 
Obstacles to Progress 

Once these facts have been acknowledged then the way is open for 
the determination of our ultimate objective -a democratic society.· 
The obstacle in the way of this development is the hope of some Europeans 
that if they hold on long enough the British Government will 
transfer power to them, and thus enable them to transform Kenya into 
another Southern Rhodesia. It is essential that this hope be destroyed. 
Then the European will be faced with the choice; either he agrees to 
be treated as an equal with his African and Asian neighbours, or there 
is no place for him in Kenya. 

This choice is not put forward in any anti-European spirit. It is justthat racial privilege can have no place in a democratic society. As an 
individual the European will be accepted for what he himself is; he 
will be judged according to his merits and rewarded according to his 
individual contribution to the society in which he lives. 

If the hope of European domination is to be effectively eliminated 
then the British Government will have to intervene. It must make a 
declaration that its aim is to create in Kenya a democratic government 
which will give recognition to the principle of equality of individual 
citizens· as against racial groups. To make clear that this is not just 
another empty declaration like that of 1923, the British Government 
will have to introduce immediate reforms in Kenya. These reforms 
must be comprehensive. They must include the reform of the Legislative 
Council and should give greater attention to the many social and economic 
problems of the country. 


The Legislative Council must be reformed by gradually superseding 
communal representation by equal representation for all individuals. 
The first move should be made in 1957, instituting parity on the Tanganyika 
pattern of equal representation for the three main races. This must 
be followed within four years -the life of a Legislative Council-byrepresentation on the basis of equality between the Africans on the one 
hand and the Non-Africans on the other. There must then be speedy 
progress towards completely individual representation. These changed 
p;:trity representation proposals can only be an expedient for the transitional 
stage. The development towards non-racial democratic election 
must remain the purpose of constitutional change. 

Parity 
The unofficial side of the Council of Ministers should be on the basis 
of parity between the three main races, with an agreed number of 
Parliamentary Under Secretaries. But the aim here too must be the 
abolition of racial representation. 
It i argued that the introduction of reforms of the Legislative Council 
and Council of Ministers cannot take place before the Europeans are 
assured that their intere t will be safeguarded against po sible action by 
a dominant African group. This argument ignores the fact that to change 
the pre ent political attitudes in Kenya the European must be made to 
feel his need to be on good term with the African. 
An example of this is provided by the behaviour of Mr. Blundell 
and orne of his colleagues. In the early stages of the Emergency, 
when the situation was desperate, they made very moderate statements 
and were ready to risk popularity with their own group in order to secure 
co-operation from the Africans and the Asians. With growing improvement 
in the situation this moderation has been quickly abandoned until 
today Mr. Blundell speaks of accepting Africans ' o far and no further'. 
Their determination to sever links with the Colonial Office and establish 
a European dominated elf-governing Kenya is al o being made clearer. 
The change sugge ted here are necessary for the Europeans to feel the 
need to build .and maintain friendly relations with the Africans. 

Extending the Franchise 
At the same time as these suggested constitutional reforms are carried 
out, the franchise mu t be extended to the African community on the 
basis of one man one vote. The multiple vote serves no useful purpose 
and should be abolished. Any case for the temporary limitation of the 
franchise in certain African areas, e.g. Northern Province, must be 
ubject to discussion and agreement with African leaders and the population 
concerned. 
A third immediate reform mu t be the legal abolition of colour discrimination. 
Thi is not just a protection for the African but is also a 
protection for the European who may be discriminated against by 
Africans as they enter into the social life of the country. Such a law 
could not, of cour e, eliminate colour prejudice, but it could prevent the 
practice of di crimination which would it elf gradually undermine the 
prejudice. 


Because of the psychological as we11 as economic importance of the 
land question there must be an immediate ban on further im1nigration 
of European farmers. The anachronism of the White Highlands must 
be abolished. This does not mean that all the farmers in this area will 
be dispossessed, but that it will be possible for members of other races 
to own land in the Highlands under individual title or on a co-operative 
basis. It must be remembered that the Troup Report (1953) revealed 
that large areas of the Highlands were not being properly farmed. Good 
husbandry should be made a condition of occupancy -a rule to be 
applied regardless of race. Due to the economic structure of the majorraces and the dependence of Africans on land both as the only security 
in old age and as the main means of subsistence, it would be necessary 
in the initial stages to restrict sale of land in the present Re erves. 

A Plan for Development 

A programme of economic and social development with fixed targets 
should be drawn up. Of first importance is the extension of education; 
this is basic to the whole future of Kenya and must be regarded a an 
emergency measure. The programme should also include a policy of 
land distribution and ownership, and the development of agriculture;
also it should outline the future policy on minimum wages, housing in 
towns, medical services and old age security for workers. 

Finally a deliberate programme of recruiting and training Africans for 
responsible posts in the Civil Service should be start d. 

The above reforms can be introduced immediately. Without some such 
action political in tability is bound to continue. Obviously other changeswill be necessary to change Kenya into a democratic state. But these 
will depend on the fulfilment of reforms suggested above. A con titutional 
conference should be called during the life of the first Legislative 
Council in which there is equal representation for all races, to discus 
the replacement of communal representation in the Legislative Council 
by geographical representation, and the establishment of a common roll 
based on universal adult suffrage. In the initial stages it may be necessary 
to reserve a few Legislative Council seats for the representation of 
communal interests by appointed members. But this form of representation 
must last only a short period. 

The legal abolition of separate public schools at all levels will have to 
be dealt with very quickly, because egregation of children builds upfeelings of group differences. The only reason it is not included in the 
list of immediate reforms is that the administrative arrangements for the 
change may take some time. If no child already at school is to be 
deprived of education it will also demand a great extension of educational 
facilities. 

Towards Self-Government 

A programme for Kenya's development towards internal self-government 
and independence within the Commonwealth must al o be drawn 
up. Once changes along the lines indicated here have taken place then 
Kenya will want to take her place among the members of the Com 10nwealth. 



i am convinced that this programme provides a basis £or the soiution 
of Kenya's problems. There are, however, two points that need stressing. 
Firstly, that during the process of reform British Government control 
must be retained to prevent any attempt by any one group to assume 
domination over the others. 

Secondly, to meet the economic and social programme reliance cannot 
be put on private capital alone. It will be necessary to approach international 
agencies for assistance and loans. To ensure that such assistance 
is used to the best advantage the Government will have to take a more 
active part in the economy of the territory. This is inevitable in the 
modern world, and is vital in a land needing as much development as 
Kenya. The Government has to ensure that it acts both to increase the 
total wealth available and to distribute it fairly among the people. 


7. Conclusion 
JN THIS pamphlet it has only been possible briefly to outline the most 

important aspects of Kenya's political problems. For those who 
know Kenya well. it will appear sketchy; for those who know nothing 
it may assume too much knowledge. It does not claim to be objective 
in the sense of being uncontroversial. 1\1any points have not been considered. 
Critics may complain that little has been written of. the Government's 
efforts, which have been considerable in some fields -especiallysince the Emergency. It may also be said that the writer has not stressed 
sufficiently the dreadful atrocities committed by Mau Mau. But these 
points have been borne in mind by the writer. In any case the viewpoints 
of the Government and Europeans receive plenty of publicity 
while there is little reference to the African viewpoint. The intention 
has been to give an Afri.can point of view of the various problems and to 
outline a possible solution. 

African Participation 

The writer may also be accused of failing to appreciate the lack of 
Africans with qualifications, experience, knowledge and ability to take 
part in the Legislative Council and higher Civil Service posts. This 
has been very carefully considered, and the recommendations are made 
in the belief that a person only learns and gains experience by takingpart in the job concerned, and more important it is only by implementing 
these changes that educational and economic programmes will be 
adopted which will aim at the speedy advancement of the African. The 
excuse that an African is unable to participate in modern government 
is not considered valid when no programme is formulated by which to 
estimate when he will be ready. 

The solution outlined may appear dramatic or radical, but this is a 
necessary consequence of the present situation in Kenya. Over fifty 
years have passed during which this unhappy situation could have been 
averted. Determination is necessary, for half-measure.s in the rapid pace 
at which we have to move, will aggravate rather than improve the 
situation. 

Is it too late? No. of course not. But action must be taken now, 
for there is no time for further procrastination. The choice before us 
is clear. The British Government must be prepared to have a show down 
with the White Settlers now or be prepared to face indefinite political 
instability in Kenya. 


Appendix I 


TRADE UNIONS 

This appendix is intended to draw attention to the political issues 
involved in labour and industrial problems. It is not intended to discuss 
the various industrial problems nor to outline the actual problems of 
trade union organisation and administration. The pamphlet is a political 
one, hence only those problems of political significance are dealt with. 
A separate pamphlet would probably be useful later, dealing with 
industrial questions and trade union development. 

1. Organisation and Labour Conditions 
Kenya's African wage labour force is approximately 450,000. This 
is equally divided between plantation and urban employment. 

Due to both the social and economic structure of the country the trade 
union movement is predominantly African. The Europeans are generally 
employed ·in executive and supervisory jobs, the Asian in skilled craft 
jobs. Most Africans do manual jobs and a few are in clerical employment. 
European and Asian organisations are to be found in the Civil 
Service, the High Commission Services and the Railway. In these 
services there exist three different workers' organisations, one for each 
of the racial groups. There is no legal restriction on organisation of a 
trade union including all races, but attempts to do this have failed for 
reasons stated earlier. 

There are nine African registered trade unions, all of which are 
affiliated to the only central organisation in the country -the Kenya 
Federation of Labour. The following unions are organised on an industrial 
basis: 

The Domestic and Hotel Workers' Union. 
The Typographical Workers' Union. 
The Kenya Local Government Workers' Union. 
The Transport and Allied Workers' Union. 
The Distributive and Commercial Workers' Union. 
The Railway African Workers' Union. 
The Building and Construction Workers' Union. 
The Tailors' and Garment Workers' Union. 
The Dock Workers' Union. 


Labour conditions in Kenya are still to a large extent determined by 
legislation. Minimum wages are laid down for certain specified areas 
through a Minimum Wage Board. This is appointed by the Minister 
of Labour and has both employees' and employers' representatives. 
The Minister is free to appoint anyone to represent employees, although 
in practice the Federation of Labour is consulted before such an appointment 
is made. There are not as yet any minimum wages laid down 
for the plantation industry. A committee to investigate the need for 
setting up minimum wages of plantation and agricultural workers has 
not so far reported. 


Wage Settlement 

Wages in towns average between £4 and £5 per month for the majority 
of African workers, while on the plantations the wages range between 
£1 lOs. Od. and £2 lOs. Od. per month. In some cases the wage is 
supplemented by the issue of rations. 

In addition to the Wages Advisory Board there is also the Central 
Labour Advisory Board on which representation is by Government 
appointment. The trade unions as such are not represented on this 
Board. 

The development of negotiating machinery is still limited to a few 
unions, namely the Docks, Railways, Local Government, Printing Trades, 
and the Civil Service. In three industries there exist either Joint 
Industrial Councils or Joint Negotiating Committees. These bodies carry 
out both consultative and collective bargaining functions. The rest of 
the Unions either take part in negotiation through Government-sponsored 
Wages Councils, or have no channels for collective bargaining at all. 

Recognition 

There are a nun1ber of problems in the development of trade unions 
in Kenya. Foremost is the question of recognition. The employers have 
in general been hostile to the development of trade unions. Unions 
cannot fulfil their function of safeguarding the interests of their members 
if they cannot meet employers and negotiate or discuss grievances. To 
fight this, the unions launched a recognition campaign in 1955. This 
resulted in one case in the appointment of a Board of Inquiry which 
recommended recognition of the Local Government Workers' Union. 
The Dock Workers' Union, thanks to the progressive outlook of some 
port employers, was given recognition following an unofficial strike of 
Dock Workers in Mombasa, and today a few Unions are actuallyrepresented on Wages Councils which include representation of employers. 

The following resolutions passed by the Association of Municipalities 
of East Africa illustrate the attitude of the majority of employers to 
Trade Union recognition. 

7th October 1954. Resolved. '(1) That the member Authorities of this 

Association should endeavour to achieve unanimity and co-ordinated action 

on the form of negotiating machinery to be adopted in each Council with 

special reference to the composition of the staff side of any joint committee 

set up; ... .' 

7th January 1955. Resolved. '... ; further, that no direct representation 

on to any such Committee (Joint Staff Negotiation Committee) be accorded 

to the Kenya Local Government Workers' Union or any other local Union.' 

23rd March 1955. Resolved. 'That each local authority be asked to 

arrange its relations with its African staff so that the Trade Union move


ment as now embodied in African Staff matters is not recognised.' 

These ·extracts are taken from the memorandum submitted by the City 
Council of Nairobi to the Board of Inquiry appointed to inquire into the 
dispute reported by the K.L.G.W.U. (Nairobi Branch) over the refusal 
of the City Council to recognise and negotiate with the Union. The 
Board's recommendations came out in favour of the Union and directed 
that the City Council recognise the Union. Up to the time of writing 


(over a year since the publication of the Board's recommendations) the 
City Council has still not agreed to negotiate with the Union. Smaller 
local authorities have agreed to recognise and negotiate with the Union. 

Although it is government policy to encourage Trade Union development, 
the Government has sometimes failed to give this declaration effect. 
For example they have set up some committees to investigate labour 
problems or conditions nf employment without inviting Trade Unions 
to be represented.1 The Council of Ministers has also on two occasions 
recently turned down agreements of Wages Councils to increase African 
wages.

Essentially therefore recognition still remams an objective which the 
unions have to organise to achieve. 

Problems of Development 

One aspect of this problem is the fact that for many years the Labour 
Department of the Government has carried out functions which should 
be performed by Trade Unions. This has created in the minds of many 
employers, and some workers, the idea that Unions are unnecessary.
As Unions are formed and become established in particular industries 
it is desirable that the structure of the Labour Department should be 
adapted to meet the new situation. 

Another factor inhibiting the growth of Unions in Kenya is the high 
labour turnover. The presence of a large body of immigrant labour is 
inevitably an impediment to the successful organisation of a permanent 
Trade Union membership. The solution to this of course lies in improving 
African wages and urban housing, and the introduction of some 
form of social security so that the worker can afford to break his links 
with the Reserves. At present the only forn1 of security an African 
worker has is the small piece of family land in the Reserves; to this he 
returns in sickness, unemployment or old age, and the product of this 
land often supports his family -thus supplementing his low wage. Thus 
he leads a double life, with one foot in a town and the other in the 
Reserve where his family lives. These points have been underlin~ bythe Carpenter and _Royal Commission Reports. 

There is also the problem of Trade Union leader:ship and administration. 
The lack of enough people with either administrative, organisational 
or negotiating experience is a problem. In this respect the International 
Confederation of Free Trade Unions, who have had an office in 
Kenya since Decmber 1954, are helping. Weekend courses are being 
run for Trade Union officials. Use is made of audio-visual equipment 
and publications, in addition to the personal assistance and advice of 
the I.C.F.T.U. representative on the spot. In addition Trade Unionists 
have attended I.C.F.T.U. seminars in Accra and Calcutta. 

The British Trades Union Congress has also sent library books and 

secretarial equipment to assist in this work, and Mr. Walter Hood of the 

1 

e.g. (a) Carpenter Committee on African Wages; (b) Committee investigatingthe need for establishing some form of Social Security; (c) Central HousingCommittee; (d) Legislative Council Select Committee investigating the need to 
establish some form of Registration for Domestic Servants. 
44 


Colonial Section of the T.U.C. has several times visited Kenya. The 
International Trade Secretariats have assisted the various unions affiliated 
to them, both with material aid and literature. The Kenya Government 
financed and ran a five-week trade union residential course in Jeanes 
School in 1954. 

However, real experience can only be gained locally in the process of 
building up the Movement. That is why it is so essential that the Unions 
should be recognised. 

II Trade Unions and Politics 

The question of the function of Trade Unions and the boundarybetween industrial and political activity has recently become a 1natter · 
of dispute in Kenya. 

The Federation of Labour has been accused by European Settlers of 
engaging in political activity. This consisted of passing resolutions to 
the I.C.F.T.U. Conference in Vienna in 1955, on such subjects as (a)
the alleged existence of Forced Labour in Kenya; (b) the unsatisfactory 
conditions existing in the agricultural industry; (c) the problems created 
by .the Emergency and suggesting measures that can bring an end to the 
Emergency and establish permanent peace, i.e. recognition of African 
rights and settlement of the land problem. 

Relations with the Government 

The Federation was also accused by Government and Europeans on 
the basis of a statement made by me in London in January 1956, 
suggesting a solution to Kenya's problems, and lastly because it commented 
adversely on the Coutts Report on African Franchise -although 
the Government had raised no objection when it gave evidence to this 
Inquiry.

This disagreement culminated early in 1956 in a Government threat 
to de-register the Federation if it did not immediately stop making 
political comments. But for the expert handling of the negotiat'ions bythe Acting General Secretary of K.F.L. , members of the General Council, 
and the assistance of the I.C.F.T.U. representative in Nairobi, and the 
subsequent visit to Kenya of Sir Vincent Tewson, the Federation would 
probably have been banned this year. The Government's argument that 
the Federation should keep away from political matters raises the 
question as to what constitutes political and what constitutes industrial 
matters.1 Especially in Kenya where a large number of industrial 
questions such as minimum wages, conditions of work, labour and social 

1 

The Kenya Government took action under the Societies Ordinance, under 
which the Federation of Labour is registered. In his first letter dated 23rd 
February 1956 the Registrar-General intimated his intention of cancelling the 
Federation's registration on the grounds that the Federation was pursuing objectsother than those declared by it in its application for registration and that it had 
'assumed the character of a political association pursuing objects in the generalpolitical field and outside the field of labour and the conditions and organisationof workers as such'. In reply the Federation cited its objects as set out in its 
constitution, including the object 'generally to improve the economic and social 
conditions of all workers in all parts of Kenya', refused to accept the allegation

continued on foot of page 46. 

45 


legislation are decided directly or indirectly by the Legislative Council, it 
is practically impossible to see how a dividing line can be established 
between political and industrial problems. It also raises the question 
of freedom of the trade union movement to champion workers' interests 
as a class. The Federation pointed out the impossibility of the situation 
in which the Government was driving it by demanding such assurance. 

Obstructive Attitudes 

It is, however, known that apart from the above arguments, the 
Government also stated that its action was prompted by the fact that 
under amendments to the Societies Ordinance enacted in January 1956, 
no African organisation was allowed to express political views on a 
national level. In the course of the exchanges between the Government 
and the Federation, it became evident that by virtue of its constitution the 
Federation was not an African organisation as such, as its membership 
was open to workers of all races. It is believed that it is as a result 
of this that the Government, on 6th March, enacted .another amendment 
to the Societies Ordinance which brought societies with a majority of 
African members within the scope of the January regulations applicable 
to African societies. The attitude of the Goverrunent to National African 
organisation has already been dealt with in another part of this pamphlet. 

that it had changed its character, and queried the validity of a rigid demarcation 
between industrial and political activities. On 1Oth March 1956 the Registrarreplied, referring to the legal requirement that a registered society should abide 
strictly by the objects set out in its registered constitution and to the Emergency(Societies) Regulations of January 1956 covering Mrican political associations, 
and requiring the Federation to furnish a written undertaking in the following 
terms:


(i) 
The Federation acknowledges that its political activities must be restricted 
to matters directly concerning members of constituent Trade Unions in 
their capacity as employees; 
(ii) 
The Federation will henceforth pursue no other political activities; 
(iii) 
The Federation acknowledges its legitimate political activities as restricted 
to such labour issues as -labour legislation; trade disputes; wages; pension 
schemes; provident funds; employees' housing; workmen's compensation;
hours of work; shop hours; paid holidays; medical and health benefits;
and related matters; 
(iv) 
The Federation will not permit any of its Officers to engage in politicalactivities beyond the limits described, in the name of or with the authorityof the Federation. 
Following a visit to Kenya by Sir Vincent Tewson, General Secretary of the 
British Trades Union Congress, the Federation sent a reply to the Government 
which accepted the legal requirements of registration and stated that in view of 
the wide range of activities which were accepted as being without question the 
legitimate concern of the Federation, it believed that prior consultation in regard 
to any marginal matter would avoid a repetition of the difficulties. In regard to 
the Registrar's fourth condition, the Federation stated that it had already, on 
27th January 1956, decided that no trade union official, in his representative trade 
union capacity, should take part in any political organisation. The Government 
accepted this letter without pressing for a formal acceptance of the conditions 
laid down in the Registrar's letter of March lOth, and the Federation's registration 
was not cancelled. . 


Finally, I must say that the Federation was fully justified in making 
the statements referred to. In any democratic country a Trade Union 
Movement is free to champion the basic rights of its members, and the 
workers generally. The new law in Kenya is suppressive and is not in 
keeping with the rights of trade unions in free countries. For this reason 
it must be fought against until it is revoked. 

It is said that African Unions must be guided so that they develop 
into responsible organisations. The development of a responsible trade 
union movement is, however, as much dependent on the attitude of the 
Government and the European employers as it is on the African Trade 
Unionists. 

Appendix II 


MINIMUM WAGE FORMULA 

The present Minimum Wage Formula is given on pp. 64 of the 
Carpenter Committee Report. 
The following estimated monthly requirements of a single man should 
be casted: 

A. 
FOOD 
36 lb. maize meal. 
5-!-lb. wheat flour. 
15 lb. potatoes (European). 

2 lb. sugar. 

8 lb. beans. 

4t lb. meat. 

7-t lb. vegetables (green leaf). 

7-t pts. milk. 

1 lb. cooking fat. 

t lb. tea. 
1 lb. salt. 


B. 
CLOTHING 
1I6th of 1 Khaki Drill shirt. 
1 /6th of 1 Khaki Drill shorts. 
1I6th of 1 Cotton vest 
1I 12th of 1 Blanket. 
1/24th of 1 Khaki Drill jacket.
1/24th of 1 Khaki Drill trousers. 
C. 
FUEL AND LIGHTING 
1 70 lb. bag charcoal. 
3 pts. paraffin. 
D . 
CLEANING MATERIALS 
2 lb. soap. 
The Total Cost A, B, C, and D establishes our Poverty Datum Line. 
To this should be added the following: 

(a) 
. 33-l-% of the Poverty Datum Line (to establish our Effective Minimum 
Wage Level).
(b) An allowance of 2 shillings for tax. 
The total rounded off to the nearest 50 cents establishes our BASIC 
MINIMUM WAGE (per month). HOUSING ALLOWANCE -considered 
separate on the basis of an amount equal to the average economic 
cost of a bed-space (40 sq. ft.) in local authority housing. 


Appendix Ill 


KENYA CONSTITUTION 

This is the ' Lyttleton Constitution ' and was introduced in 1954. The 
Council of Ministers is the principal instrument of policy. 

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 

Governor 

Deputy Governor 

6 Official Members 

6 Unofficial Members -made up of: 

3 drawn from the European Elected Members 

2 drawn from the Asian Ivfembers of Legislative Council 

1 drawn from African Members 

2 N aminated Members. 
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 

All members of the Council of Ministers 

1 Arab 

2 Africans 
Under-Secretaries have also been appointed. 
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 

Governor as President 

Vice-President and Speaker 

8 Ex-officio Members 

18 Nominated Members 

21 Elected Members -made up of: 

14 Europeans

6 Asians 

1 Arab 

7 Representative Members -made up of: 

6 Africans 

1 Arab 

Appointed, or nominated, Members are appointed direct by the Governor. 
The Representative Members he appoints with the approval of 
various racial organisations. 

The approximate population of the three main racial groups is at 
present: 

Europeans 45,000 

Asians 150,000 

Africans 5,750,000 

LAND-ALLOCATION 

Northern Province and Unclassified Areas 1 ... 150,000 sq. miles 
Native areas (incl. 15,250 sq.m. of the Masai District 

and 720 sq. m. Forestry Reserve) 52,000 sq. miles 
Gazetted I-Iighlands (incl. 4,000 sq. m. Forest Res.) 16,000 sq. miles 
Lakes 5,000 sq. miles 
Miscellaneous (Townships, Coastal, Freehold, etc.) ... 1,900 sq. miles 

Most of this area is semi-desert. 


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Bureau, 11 Dartmouth Street, London, S.W.l. 


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