When the British came to Kenya, they changed a few things in their attempts to "civilize" the natives. They introduced money, and second, they introduced the concept of taxation. Neither one of these changes pleased the natives much, but the main problems were due to a slight misinterpretation. When asked about the land in which they lived, various natives referred to it as "our land". The British felt that this meant that the tribal government owned all the land, and that since they were replacing the tribal government, they should obviously get possession of the land. In point of fact, land was privately owned, though by families and not individuals. So when the British claimed the land in the name of the new government, the peoples of Kenya universally considered it outright theft.

Linked with the loss of land was the loss of economic independence. When a man could not farm his own land, he would have to serve someone else; either farming their land or working in the British settlements. This amounted to little more than serfdom, for there was a clear double standard. The Kenyan natives would only get one-fifth the compensation the settlers got for the same amount of work. Under such hardships, it was only a matter of time before the natives revolted.

The Mau Mau “Burning Spear” movement found its roots in the Gikuyu tribe. They were the most populous tribe in Kenya, and the quickest to get Western education. Their civilization also allowed secret societies to flourish; they had had secret societies like the Arogi operating against the law since before the Europeans came to Africa, and they took oaths very seriously.

Thus, when a new secret society like the Mau Mau came along preaching help to the Gikuyu and other tribes, it quickly grew. Note that to this day no one really knows what the original goals of the Mau Mau were. The organization was declared illegal on the assumption that it was anti-government.

Their leader and figurehead was Jomo Kenyatta. He was born in 1891 in a place called Ichaweri, and from 1931 to 1946 he worked and studied abroad. On returning to Africa after W.W.II he took up the fight with his fellow Mau Mau to clear Kenya of the British. Gradually Kenyatta built up his forces in the Mau Mau until 1950 when the British colonial government took steps to ban any meetings of the Mau Mau, but never really stamped out the society. Kenyatta managed to keep the Mau Mau active though preaching his own brand of revolution to the tribes, telling them that all Europeans and Asian’s should be made to leave Kenya.

The Mau Mau survived as a secret society and as a fighting force because they were able to get supplies from a few different sources. First, they had the popular support of the people. Second, the people who did not give to them willingly were generally forced to support their cause, and they were able to get still more supplies through theft. They also charged money from the new members as payment for the oath ceremony, and all possessions of all the members were expected to go into the cause if needed. They were also able to get some supplies from the forests in which they hid. Contrary to the popular belief at the time, they did not receive any support from the International Communist Conspiracy.

This describes the situation for the Mau Mau until March 26, 1953. On this date, they lost much of their popular support because of the Massacre at Lari. It is far from certain that the Mau Mau caused it, but the people and the press blamed them at the time. Further, in April of 1954, the Mau Mau Central Committee was neutralized by the government, effectively destroying their only organized supply network. Once their sources of supply were thrown into disarray, it was a downhill struggle for the Mau Mau.

Whilst emigrants to other parts of the British Empire, such as Australia, were usually of middle or working class extraction, the Kenya settlers were more often aristocrats and high-ranking army officers. So in the end, when the Africans rose in a revolt, the panic and anger of the settlers made them famous. They put about the idea that the Mau Mau was the most brutal, blood thirsty, murderous rising of black men against white in the history of mankind. Oaths were enforced with much obscenity to kill, maim and destroy white people, their livestock and property. In Britain it was widely believed that Mau Mau fighters (who acted like savages and they were cannibals) had slaughtered white people in thousands. But it was not so. The actual number of white civilians killed was thirty-two.

The Mau Mau Emergency was the first black African war of liberation against colonial powers and the only one that the Europeans were to win anywhere in Africa during the following decades. Whether you argue that Mau-Mau was a movement for all Africans within Kenya, or largely a movement by and for Kikuyus alone, it was critical for gaining Kenya?s independence, even though it did not appear successful when the British smashed its power in 1957, killing more than 10,000 Kenyans. Mau-Mau articulated African grievances, making it clear to European settlers than the power, wealth, and prestige they had enjoyed during the colonial period was going to end.

Tag: Mau Mau - the Burning Spear