When most people think of the First World War, images of trench warfare in Europe dominate the imagination. But far from the battlefields of France and Belgium, a brutal and under-documented campaign raged across East Africa. Kenya, then part of the British East Africa Protectorate, played a central role in this “forgotten front,” not only as a staging ground for British operations against German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania), but also as the site of one of the most grueling supply chains in the history of warfare. At its heart stood the Carrier Corps—tens of thousands of African porters forced into service by the British colonial government.
The War Reaches East Africa
With the outbreak of war in 1914, German and British colonial forces clashed almost immediately. The German commander, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, waged a highly mobile guerrilla campaign across East Africa, aimed at drawing British resources away from Europe. Kenya became a key base for the British King’s African Rifles (KAR) and Indian troops brought in from the British Raj. Battles occurred along the border, including skirmishes at Taveta and Longido.
While formal soldiers made headlines, the real logistical backbone of the British war effort was composed of African porters—men drawn from across the colony and forced to march hundreds of kilometers carrying supplies.
Birth of the Carrier Corps
The British soon realized that their military ambitions in German East Africa required a vast amount of human labor. The region lacked railways and roads, and vehicles were of little use in muddy and forested terrain. In 1915, the British officially established the Carrier Corps to manage this labor.
The Corps recruited, often forcibly, African men to carry munitions, food, tents, and medical supplies. Many of these porters came from rural parts of Kenya: the Kikuyu highlands, Kamba villages, Luo shores, and even coastal Swahili settlements. Entire communities were disrupted as men were conscripted or volunteered under false promises of pay and protection.
By 1917, over 400,000 East African porters had been recruited, with estimates of over 100,000 coming from Kenya alone.
Suffering and Death
Life in the Carrier Corps was harsh. Porters were made to walk through mosquito-infested swamps and rugged bushlands, carrying heavy loads for days or weeks without rest. Basic necessities like food, medicine, and shelter were often denied. Many succumbed to exhaustion, disease (especially dysentery and malaria), and injury. Some were executed for disobedience.
Estimates suggest that over 50,000 Carrier Corps porters died during the war, though the real number is likely higher due to poor record keeping. Entire ethnic communities lost a generation of young men—an impact that echoed in the years that followed.
Resistance and Memory
There was resistance to recruitment in various parts of Kenya. Chiefs, elders, and even entire villages refused to hand over men. In Nyanza, Luo communities staged protests. Among the Kikuyu, women sometimes took over men’s duties on farms in their absence, resisting colonial labor demands. Some early nationalist leaders would later recall the injustices of the Carrier Corps era as formative in their political awakening.
Despite their sacrifices, porters received little compensation or recognition after the war. Veterans were often denied pensions. Commemoration was largely absent from official histories—especially under colonial rule.
Want to learn more? Read about Life in Nairobi during the 1910s and Kenya’s Labour Movements in the 20th Century.
Legacy
Today, historians are working to revive the memory of the Carrier Corps as a symbol of African contribution and suffering during World War I. In Nairobi, a memorial to African soldiers and carriers stands in Uhuru Park, but public knowledge remains low. Yet their role is undeniable: without their labor, Britain’s East African campaign would have collapsed.
Their story also challenges dominant narratives of passive colonial subjects. Though conscripted, these porters were active participants in the war’s physical and moral burden. The neglect they faced after the war also helped sow the seeds of political resistance and a desire for dignity in the colonial subjects of Kenya.