Kenya Land and Freedom Army

Last updated

Kenya Land and Freedom Army
Leaders Dedan Kimathi
Dates of operation1952–1960
NewspaperHigh Command [1]
Ideology
Size35,000+ [2]
OpponentsFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Battles and wars Mau Mau uprising

The Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, was a Kenyan insurgent group which fought against British colonial rule in Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion from 1952 to 1960. Its membership consisted largely of the Kikuyu people. The KFLA was led by Dedan Kimathi for most of its existence. After four years, British forces managed to destroy the KFLA militarily, and Kimathi was captured and executed in 1957. Though the Mau Mau rebellion was ultimately suppressed, it played a major role in achieving Kenyan independence, which occurred in 1963.

Contents

History

Origins

Ths KLFA's membership consisted largely of the Kikuyu people, many of whom had their lands confiscated by British colonial officials and given to white settlers during the early 20th century. The KFLA espoused African nationalist and anti-colonial ideologies, and was led by Dedan Kimathi for most of its existence. [3]

Mau Mau uprising

The KFLA began what is now called the Mau Mau uprising in 1952. After four years of counterinsurgency operations, British forces managed to largely neutralise the KFLA as a military threat, and Kimathi was captured and executed by the colonial authorities in 1957. The Mau Mau rebellion was fully defeated by 1960. [3]

During the rebellion, thousands of KFLA insurgents were killed by the British, including 1,090 people who were executed by the colonial authorities. Official numbers state that 11,000 insurgents were killed, though the Kenya Human Rights Commission has estimated that "90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions". Oxford University professor David Anderson estimated that up to 25,000 people were killed during the conflict. [4] The colonial administration also interned at least 80,000 Kenyans suspected of being affiliated with the KFLA in detention camps, with some estimates of the number of detainees being as high as 320,000 people. [5] [6] Torture was widespread against detainees, and in 1959 11 prisoners were killed by camp guards in the Hola massacre. [7] The KFLA also committed numerous atrocities, including the Lari massacre, and murdered at least 1,819 Kenyan civilians. [8]

Structure

A KFLA platoon consisted between 500 and 2,000 insurgents. If the platoon numbered in the thousands, its general was assisted by a colonel and a brigadier. [3] KFLA generals included Chui, Kassam Njogu, China, Stanley Mathenge, Kubu Kubu and Bamuingi. The capture of Kimathi on 21 October 1956, fatally crippled the KFLA, and ultimately played a major role in ending the rebellion. [3]

Information systems

One of the most important achievements of the KFLA was the development of a robust and effective information system that combined oral experiences of ordinary Kenyans with print works. Songs were produced to pass on important information and to raise political consciousness and at the same time newspapers would be published. The KFLA published over 50 newspapers in different languages such as Swahili, Kikuyu and other Kenyan languages. KFLA members also produced a large amount of sound recordings and had their own presses. [9]

Aftermath and impact

Though the Mau Mau rebellion was ultimately suppressed, it played a major role in achieving Kenyan independence, which occurred on 12 December 1963. After independence, former KFLA general Bamuingi continued to lead a team of former KFLA insurgents which were killed by Kenyan security forces operating under the command of Jomo Kenyatta. They had returned to the forests in 1965 to fight against the new Kenyan government, claiming that independence only benefited pro-British collaborators and political moderates. Their bodies were paraded in Meru Township for three days as the "last chiefs of the Mau-Mau freedom terrorists". [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperialism</span> Extension of rule over foreign nations

Imperialism is the practice, theory or attitude of maintaining or extending power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power and soft power. Imperialism focuses on establishing or maintaining hegemony and a more or less formal empire. While related to the concepts of colonialism, imperialism is a distinct concept that can apply to other forms of expansion and many forms of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mau Mau rebellion</span> Insurgency in Kenya from 1952 to 1960

The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the British authorities. Dominated by Kikuyu, Meru and Embu fighters, the KLFA also comprised units of Kamba and Maasai who fought against the European colonists in Kenya, the British Army, and the local Kenya Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya African Democratic Union</span> Political party in Kenya

The Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) was a political party in Kenya. It was founded in 1960 when several leading politicians refused to join Jomo Kenyatta's Kenya African National Union (KANU). It was led by Ronald Ngala who was joined by Moi's Kalenjin Political Alliance, the Masai United Front, the Kenya African Peoples Party, the Coast African Political Union, Masinde Muliro's Baluhya Political Union and the Somali National Front. The separate tribal organisations were to retain their identity and so, from the very start, KADU based its political approach on tribalism. KADU's aim was to defend the interests of the so-called KAMATUSA as well as the British settlers, against the imagined future dominance of the larger Luo and Kikuyu that comprised the majority of KANU's membership, when it became inevitable that Kenya will achieve its independence. The KADU objective was to work towards a multiracial self government within the existing colonial political system. After release of Jomo Kenyatta, KADU was becoming increasingly popular with European settlers and, on the whole, repudiated Kenyatta's leadership. KADU's plan at Lancaster meetings was devised by European supporters, essentially to protect prevailing British settlers land rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedan Kimathi</span> Kenyan leader during the Mau Mau Uprising (1920–1957)

Dedan Kimathi Waciuri was the senior military and spiritual leader of the Kikuyu rebels involved in the Mau Mau Uprising. Widely regarded as a revolutionary leader, he led the armed military struggle against the British colonial regime in Kenya in the 1950s until his capture in 1956 and execution in 1957. Kimathi is credited with leading efforts to create formal military structures within the Mau Mau, and convening a war council in 1953. He, along with Baimungi M'marete, Musa Mwariama, General China and Muthoni Kirima, was one of the Field Marshals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya African Union</span>

The Kenya African Union (KAU) was a political organization in colonial Kenya, formed in October 1944 prior to the appointment of the first African to sit in the Legislative Council. In 1960 it became the current Kenya African National Union (KANU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wars of national liberation</span> Conflict fought for national liberation

Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers to establish separate sovereign states for the rebelling nationality. From a different point of view, such wars are called insurgencies, rebellions. Guerrilla warfare or asymmetric warfare is often utilized by groups labeled as national liberation movements, often with support from other states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamba people</span> Ethnic group in Eastern Kenya

The Kamba or Akamba people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in the area of Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and north to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land is called Ukambani and constitutes Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties.

Kubu Kubu, born Njagi wa Ikutha, was an Embu Mau Mau leader and general. His nom de guerre, Kubu Kubu, means "heavy thud" in Kîembu, referencing the thud his feet made due to his heavy build.

The Honourable Paul Joseph Ngei was a Kenyan politician who was imprisoned for his role in the anti-colonial movement, but who went on to hold several government ministerial positions after Kenya became independent.

The 1959 Hola massacre was a massacre committed by British colonial forces during the Mau Mau Uprising at a colonial detention camp in Hola, Kenya.

Kamiti Maximum Security Prison is a prison in Nairobi, Kenya. The prison is within Kasarani District, bordering Kiambu County. Originally named "Kamiti Downs", it sits in the middle of its own 490-hectare (1,200-acre) estates which lie fallow and untended.

The Kikuyu Home Guard was a government paramilitary force in Kenya from early 1953 until January 1955. It was formed in response to insurgent attacks during the Mau Mau Uprising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indians in Kenya</span> Diasporic ethnic group

Indians in Kenya, often known as Kenyan Asians, are citizens and residents of Kenya with ancestral roots in the Indian subcontinent. Significant Indian migration to modern-day Kenya began following the creation of the British East Africa Protectorate in 1895, which had strong infrastructure links with Bombay in British India. Indians in Kenya predominantly live in the major urban areas of Nairobi and Mombasa, with a minority living in rural areas.

Liberation is a political civil rights advocacy group founded in the United Kingdom in 1954. It had the support of many MPs, including Harold Wilson, Barbara Castle and Tony Benn, and celebrities such as Benjamin Britten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Erskine</span> British Army officer (1899–1965)

General Sir George Watkin Eben James Erskine, was a British Army officer from Hascombe, Surrey. After he graduated from Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Erskine was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps and saw action on the Western Front of the First World War. During the Second World War, he commanded the 7th Armoured Division from 1943 to 1944. Erksine later commanded counterinsurgency operations against the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA) during the Mau Mau rebellion.

Stanley Mathenge wa Mirugi was a Kenyan military leader during the Mau Mau rebellion.

<i>Simba</i> (1955 film) 1955 British film

Simba is a 1955 British war drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, and starring Dirk Bogarde, Donald Sinden, Virginia McKenna, and Basil Sydney. The screenplay concerns a British family living in East Africa, who become embroiled in the Mau Mau Uprising.

Shiraz Durrani MBE is a British-Kenyan library science professional noted for his writings on the social and political dimensions of information and librarianship.

Kurito ole Kisio was a Mau Mau general who was killed in Narok, Kenya, in 1954. One of the lesser known leaders of the rebellion, Kisio was the highest ranking Mau Mau leader from the Maasai community. He fought alongside Turesh ole Tikani and Muntet ole Nkapiani. Although little is known about him today, Kisio's role in the freedom movement was important because it shows the Mau Mau Uprising was not a Kikuyu-only affair. According to Mau Mau chronicler Karari Njama, ole Kisio was the fourth most powerful man within Mau Mau ranks. He had an army of about 800 fighters operating from Melili Forest in Narok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochola Ogaye Mak'Anyengo</span> Kenyan trade unionist and politician (1930-1990)

Ochola Ogaye Mak'Anyengo, also known as George Philip Ochola (1930–1990) was a Kenyan trade unionist and Member of Parliament for Ndhiwa, South Nyanza, Kenya. He was involved in the fight for Kenya's independence and was a beneficiary of the Mboya-Kennedy airlifts.

References

  1. Durrani, Shiraz. Mau Mau, the Revolutionary, Anti-Imperialist Force from Kenya, 1948-63: Selection from Shiraz Durrani's Kenya's War of Independence: Mau Mau and Its Legacy of Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism, 1948-1990. Vita Books, 2018.
  2. Durrani, Shiraz. Mau Mau, the Revolutionary, Anti-Imperialist Force from Kenya, 1948-63: Selection from Shiraz Durrani's Kenya's War of Independence: Mau Mau and Its Legacy of Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism, 1948-1990. Vita Books, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "08 Gathogo (1) Gen Chui wa Mararo pdf | Julius Gathogo". Academia.edu. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. "Bloody uprising of the Mau Mau". BBC News. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  5. "Mau Mau uprising: Bloody history of Kenya conflict". The Guardian. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  6. "Mau Mau massacre documents revealed". BBC News. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  7. "Mau Mau". WNYC Studios. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  8. Anderson, David (2005). Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 84. ISBN   978-0-297-84719-9.
  9. Durrani, Shiraz. Mau Mau, the Revolutionary, Anti-Imperialist Force from Kenya, 1948-63: Selection from Shiraz Durrani's Kenya's War of Independence: Mau Mau and Its Legacy of Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism, 1948-1990. Vita Books, 2018.