The name “Mau Mau” was never the original title used by the fighters themselves. Those who led the armed struggle in colonial Kenya organized under the name Kenya Land and Freedom Army. It was only after British authorities began labeling their insurgents as “Mau Mau” that the term entered widespread use to describe the rebellion … Read more
In February 1947, the port city of Mombasa became the unlikely epicenter of a labor movement that would ripple across Kenya for decades. The dockworkers’ strike that paralyzed East Africa’s busiest colonial port was more than a wage dispute. It was a confrontation between African labor and imperial capital, between colonial indifference and the urgent … Read more
In the Nairobi of the 1950s, the question of who could move—and how—was never just a matter of infrastructure. It was a question of power. Like many other colonial cities, Nairobi’s transport system was built to carry some and constrain others. Buses moved bodies, yes, but more importantly, they reinforced the borders of race, class, … Read more
Between 1952 and 1960, under the cover of forest and fog, Kikuyu communities weaponized not just pangas and oaths—but music. Songs became living archives. They carried news, warned of betrayal, commemorated sacrifice, and most critically, reaffirmed the moral foundation of the rebellion: land and freedom. In a time when speaking against the colonial government could … Read more
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 … Read more
Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline has long been a vital maritime corridor connecting the East African interior with the wider Indian Ocean world. From the arrival of Portuguese explorers in the 16th century to modern-day oil tankers and passenger ferries, these waters have been busy, strategic—and often perilous. Over the centuries, numerous shipwrecks and maritime disasters … Read more
The Legislative Council (LEGCO) of colonial Kenya, first established in 1907, began as an exclusive instrument of settler influence but evolved into a crucible of political transformation. It reflected the structural contradictions of British colonial rule: race-based governance, settler economic interests, and the gradual — often reluctant — accommodation of African political aspirations. From its … Read more
Nairobi in the 1910s was a small but rapidly growing colonial town, just a little over a decade old since being established as a railway depot in 1899. This decade marked Nairobi’s transformation from a muddy settlement into the administrative and commercial hub of British East Africa (later Kenya). Here is what characterized Nairobi during … Read more
If you’ve seen images or headlines about massive youth-led protests in Kenya and wondered, “Why is this happening?” you’re not alone. For anyone new to Kenya’s history, the recent Gen Z uprising might seem sudden or confusing. But in reality, what’s happening today is part of a much longer, ongoing story—a struggle over change that … Read more
Causes of the Uprising The Mau Mau Uprising was rooted in long-standing grievances among the Kikuyu and other communities over land dispossession, lack of political rights, and social inequalities under British colonial rule. “It was not simply a rebellion of peasants. It was also a battle of meaning: about land, rights, and justice.” – Anderson … Read more