Question

A de-colonisation movement started in Africa after the Second World War. In this context, examine the role of Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya's struggle for independence.

Answer 1

Kenya, in Africa, was a British colony from 1920 to 1963.

1. As the Kenya African Union president, Jomo Kenyatta was appointed in 1947.
2. Kenyatta was detained and imprisoned on suspicion of participating in an anti-colonial movement during the Mau Mau uprising. Oct. 2, 1952, was declared a day of emergency. The public demanded his release after the emergency ended in January 1960. In August 1961, he became free.
3. There were a great number of white settlers in Kenya. They refused to engage in conversations with Kenyatta and his Kenya African Unity Party (KAU) because they despised the rule of the black majority. It was challenging to negotiate freedom with Kenya.
4. The white colonists became aggressive, believing the African Party's fight would become less powerful. Because these white settlers were supported by a few powerful British corporate companies, the British government was under intense pressure from both sides.
5. The Legislative Council consisted of fifty-four members, of which only six were African, meaning that the KAU failed to advance significantly.
6. The enraged and frustrated Kenyan people organised terrorist attacks on farms owned by Europeans. The Mau Mau secret group was behind all of this. The Kikuyu tribes, who had lost their best lands to white foreigners, made up the majority of its members.
7. The British government sent in huge forces to put down the terrorists, and Kenyatta was among the national leaders they arrested and imprisoned. Approximately ten thousand Africans were murdered over the next eight years, and many more were imprisoned. It was comparable to a camp for concentration.
8. Even though the terrorists had been eliminated by 1960, the British could calculate the cost of the entire counterterrorism effort independently. Kenyatta was appointed prime minister of Kenya after the country gained independence in 1963. He progressively transformed from a strong nationalist to a conservative capitalist politician after assuming power.