ARMED STRUGGLE IN KENYA AGAINST BRITISH RULE.
BACKGROUND: Kenya was a British colony more especially after the completion of the Kenya-Uganda railway line in 1907. The liberation struggle in Kenya started from the earliest time of colonialism mainly of tribal resistance like Nandi resistance (1895 – 1905) but effectively and mass nationalism in Kenya started after the second war in 1946 when the Kenya African Union (KAU) was formed and transformed to KANU- Kenya African National Union in 1960.
Historically people of Kenya used peaceful means until 1950 where they resorted into armed struggle having seen that, negotiation means has proved failure. In 1957 Africans started to organize on nationalist armed struggle/movement called MAU MAU “Land freedom war” where in 1952 it gained much support by grant and field marshal like Dedan Kimathi and general china who were ex-soldiers from ww.2 and elite men like Jomo Kenyatta. After that, in 1956 the colonial government declared a state of emergence to prohibit/burn all the African political government, still fighters continued with their move until when the British declared state of emergence in 1960 to enable peaceful negotiation for independence.
The negotiation were held in Lancaster house in England (1960) where they agreed that general election to be held and Africans were allowed to form and organize political parties thus in 1960 KANU and KADU were formed. KANU was under Jomo Kenyatta and Oldinga Odinga while KADU was under Daniel Araph Moi.
The struggle for independence in Kenya after the Second World War was difficult. All peaceful attempts and diplomatic methods had failed to regain their alienated land .Attempts by the young kikuyu associations had all failed. British thinking about its colonial policy in Kenya was complicated further by the presence of settlers, it considered that some alternative should be found to the normal one-man one-vote democracy; if not the white settlers were not sure of their future in case the majority African take political power, the white settlers suggested multiracial type of constitution.
No doubt that the kikuyu people had exceptional grievance to strike a rebellion at that particular time, one of the major reason for that was the fact that their number had grown steadily throughout the colonial period and yet their land into which they would have expanded on was occupied by settlers. In face of land shortage large number of Kikuyu was driven to seek inadequately paid jobs in towns or else in European farms. In towns many were unemployed and took to living by crime. These poverty stricken and land-hungry people looked with understandable envy and resentment upon the settlers.
This led to the outbreak of MAUMAU which was guerilla warfare 1951 .It started with the murder of few British farmers their cattle were mutilated and doing other acts of violence. All these act of violence were intended to instill such terror into the settler community that most would leave the country. The colonial government responded by arresting Jomo Kenyatta and other well-known Kikuyu leaders. They were charged for organizing the revolts and condemned to long terms of imprisonment.
Generally with a long bloodshed in Kenya Africans in Kenya ultimately achieved her independence in 1963 led by Jomo Kenyatta who assumed the position as a prime minister and latter on as a president.
FACTORS THAT NECESSIATED THE AFRICANS TO USE ARMED STRUGGLE IN KENYA.
CAUSES OF MAU-MAU WAR IN KENYA
Due to severe settler’s exploitation to Africans in terms of Taxation, land alienation and forced labor annoyed Africans this was seen as total humiliation of the white against the Africa blacks. Who became squatters on their own land most of them ended up going in urban centers were they were unemployed and living on crimes.
Missionary interference in kikuyu traditions such as female genital mutilation, and indoctrination of western values like religion, education. While condemning the African traditions and culture as satanic practice that are not permitted to God.
Africans were deprived the right to grow cash crops, which only the white settlers were given the monopoly role to grow and market such cash crops leaving African with to provide cheap and V manual labor in European plantations.
The role of the returned soldiers who could not find jobs which they were promised when they were taken in the Second World War. These included Dedan Kimathi and General china. Being the ex-soldier, the colonial government promised them better land and jobs in the colonial government after the war, as a result these soldiers were not given what they were promised a thing that made them to be annoyed and hence decided to join into Mau Mau struggle.
The presence of Kenya setters who thought that Kenya was their permanent territory (they made it as a crown colony). Hence were not willing to let Kenya go into the hands of the black African political leaders, such sentiment prompted the Kikuyu people to up guns.
The British settlers had heavily invested in Kenya especially in agriculture where they become reluctant to quit the colony and leave their investments to Africans.
Due to the European behaviors of interfering with African culture, good example of this was prohibition of women circumcision among the kikuyu.
The British colonial government’s decision of burning and suppressing African movements and political parties in a sense that many political leaders were killed while others were detained by the British colonial government; good example is Jomo Kenyatta who was detained several times, these trend annoyed Africans.
In a nutshell, Kenya eventually got her independence in l963 under the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta of KANU, becoming the last country in East Africa to get her independence. KANU provided a country with the ruling group of great ability. Within a year of independence the opposition party KADU had gone into voluntary dissolution, its members deciding either to retire from politics or to join the ruling ranks.
But it proved impossible to maintain the structure of one party-state. In O1966 Odinga Odinga after Kenyatta the most powerful politician broke with his old associate and formed a new political party the Kenya peoples’ union. He opposed Kikuyu domination in the politics, him being Luo many his followers were his tribesmen. He also opposed KANU ideological approach of handling the Kenyan problems. He favored the radical approach.
In sharp contrast to situation in Tanzania the Kenya government policy had encouraged the growth of a class of local capitalists whose new acquired wealthy contrasted sharply with the poverty of the high growing unemployed urban population. That was-the starting point of Kenyan income inequality.
WHY WAS IT NECESSARY FOR THE NATIONALISTS TO FIGHT FOR MAJORITY RULE THROUGH ARMED STRUGGLE IN ZIMBABWE?
INTRODUCTION:
Zimbabwe was a British settler colony. The constitutional of 1923 gave special political power to the minority white settlers at the expense of the Africans majority. Throughout the colonial period the minority white settlers used various efforts to establish political dominance, e.g. Creation of central African federation 1953 to 1963 with the intention of placing Malawi and Zambia under political and control of white minority settlers of Zimbabwe to hinder nationalism.
In November 1965 Ian Smith, leader of new white Rhodesia front party, declared a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (U.D.I). He thereby illegally declared white-ruled Rhodesia to be independent state, free from any British colonial control. The British government protested but little effective action was taken to stop it. It was clear to the leaders of ZANU that their, commitment to armed struggle was indeed the only way forward.
The international community declared a policy of economic sanctions against the illegal Smith regime. But South Africa and Portugal colonies like Mozambique ignored the instruction and continued to trade with Zimbabwe even British multinational oil companies secretly continued to trade with Rhodesia.
NOTE: It should be born in mind that, the independent struggle in Zimbabwe can be traced back into two important dimensions (events). The first was during 1890’s in which Africans resisted against the invasion of British South Africa Company by waging armed struggle called “Chimulenga”.
The second incidence was in 1965 when minority settlers in Zimbabwe under their leader lan Smith declared their independence U.D.I (Unilateral declaration for independence). This made the Africans to resort into the second period of armed struggle. This was because with U.D.I Southern Rhodesia now (Zimbabwe) was t. This was because with U.D.I Southern Rhodesia now (Zimbabwe) was to be independent under minority president lan Smith.
As lan Smith declared U.D.I, the British colonial government became silent thus ZANU as a political party led by Africans began to wage armed struggle, first, the struggle took place within 15 years by using negotiations with colonial masters under the pressure from common wealth and other world peace loving organization.
Thereafter, ZANU and ZAPU controlled the majority of the country city outside the main city in which the London peace treaty was signed and changed the name of the country from Southern Rhodesia to Zimbabwe, the Ian Smith decided to free to cap town.
In February 1980, election was held where eight political parties contested including that of Ian Smith, where by Zimbabwe African national people’s front (ZANU – PF) led by Robert Mugabe got highest seats (57 seats) and allowed to from the majority government in 1980.
WHY LIBERATION STRUGGLE IN ZIMBABWE CAME THROUGH GUN?
Land alienation by the British colonialist that were given to the white settlers and the African remained with totally nothing for their live hood apart from supplying cheap -labor in the white settler plantations.
Zimbabwe whites declared U.D.I 1965 by Ian Smith this left the black majority with no any other alternative apart from using armed struggle.
Forced labor to work in the white plantation this humiliated the African very much that made them to use armed forces to fight it.
Richness of Zimbabwe, especially in minerals and rich agricultural land which attracted whites and made them not willing to grant independence to the African, thus application of armed struggle.
Failure of whites to agree to the peaceful means, to grant independence to the African.
Taxation also prompted the black majority to use force as the way to stop the excessive taxation system of the colonialists.
Imperialist powers supported the whites’ minority over the black majority. This made Africans to become angry.
Tribalism, there was no effective strong political party for Africans that would champion peaceful means.
Failure of imperialist powers to observe the united nations economic sanctions against the illegal white minority rule led by Ian Smith.
Due to the help / support that Zimbabwe received from neighboring Africans countries like Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola in collaboration with USSR who provided weapons and other military support to the Africans.
To conclude the above explanation one can say that, despite all burden the white settlers provided to the Africans in Zimbabwe eventually Africans successfully to achieve their independence in 1980’s Robert Mugabe being the prime minister where Africans become free by having their self determination and rule their country without any foreign interference.
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