Kenya's New Nationalism
JR., GEORGE W. SHEPHERD
By George W Shepherd Jr. kenya's New The Mau Mau has spent its fury in Kenya, and the East African British colony has become so peaceful that early in March the first elections were held among the...
...All the old moderate appointed candidates, including the venerable Eluid Mathu, were badly defeated...
...The Kenya Government, in return for a promise that trade-union leaders would not issue political statements in the union's name, withdrew its threat to outlaw the organization...
...Mboya became familiar to many Americans shortly before the Kenya election when he toured the U. S. under the auspices of the American Committee on Africa and several trade unions...
...kenya's New The Mau Mau has spent its fury in Kenya, and the East African British colony has become so peaceful that early in March the first elections were held among the Africans...
...Although Tom Mboya is the youngest of the elected African representatives, he has emerged as the leader...
...To date, the influence of settler opinion has been the decisive factor in molding British policy, but, in the light of what has happened in the Gold Coast and I'ganda...
...it is not too much to hope that old colonial problems will he viewed from a new perspective...
...While voicing equalitarian principles, the Capricornites are simply creating the illusion among men of good will that there is a way to avoid the inevitable...
...He won national attention when a Mombasa dock strike was successfully settled to the dock workers' advantage...
...But multi-racial, in the view of the Blundel faction, means a predominantly settler government in which other races cooperate graciously, accepting the leadership of superior European brains and experience for an indefinite period...
...This has aroused deep antagonism among the white settlers, who opposed African elections from the start...
...Even though their leader has an excellent grasp of economics and has a young, capable group of Africans around him, the charges of "inexperience" and "incompetence" are hard to overcome in Kenya...
...There is a group of diehard settlers who will stop at nothing in opposing the emergence of an African majority...
...A statement of the eight African legislators, issued shortly after their election, said: "We shall fight to build a government and society in which all enjoy equal rights and opportunities and no one enjoys privileges or a privileged position...
...But they have already presented the Governor with a demand that 15 additional seats be created for Africans, thus precipitating a new political controversy...
...The Capricorn Society advocates a system of weighted voting which would enable Europeans to outvote Africans because of their superior financial and educational position...
...The outlook is brighter than in the Mau Mau period, but it is still dark indeed...
...This wag used to disfranchise not only those who were sympathetic to the Mau Mau, but also many who had not actively campaigned against them...
...African nationalists are willing to cooperate with non-Africans but are opposed to granting them special privileges...
...a voter was entitled to as many as three votes, depending on the number of these qualifications he could meet...
...Soon his interest turned to organizing Government workers...
...Not easily out-maneuvered, he persuaded Sir Vincent Tewson, head of the powerful British Trades Union Congress to intercede...
...While Mboya was studying in England, the Government threatened to ban the Federation...
...They have accused Mboya and his companions of reviving "racism," and would like to see them imprisoned along with the Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta...
...The little band of Europeans, of whom only 15,000 can be counted permanent residents, have 38 representatives in the Council: 16 elected, 15 appointed, and 7 ex officio...
...George Meany and other union leaders were so impressed with him that they decided to help his Kenya Federation of Trade Unions build an organizing center in Nairobi...
...The restriction that aroused the greatest African opposition was the requirement of a "loyalty certificate" to vote...
...The newly-elected African representatives, unlike their appointed predecessors, will not participate in the Government as ministers...
...The Asian representation is 8, 4 for the Hindus and 4 for the Moslems...
...The Capricorn Society has been propagating it as the sole basis on which the different races of East and Central Africa can continue to live in peace and move toward independence...
...As for the strong nationalist showing in the face of all these obstacles, it is simply an indication that most Africans are now nationalists in Kenya...
...It happened, too, in spite of a ban on Kenya-wide parties which made a unified campaign impossible...
...The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions' support of the fledgling Kenya labor movement was also a decisive factor in keeping it alive...
...This happened in spite of a weighted system which gave additional votes to men who had proved their loyalty in the campaign against the Mau Mau and to those with a sizable income or considerable education...
...Europeans and Asians have been electing representatives for many years, but all Africans had previously been appointed by the Governor— even though Kenya is populated by 5.5 million Africans as against 40,000 whites and 150,000 Asians...
...Much has been made of the multiracial government concept in England and the Western world...
...These were difficult times because of the Mau Mau rebellion...
...His popularity among workers in particular and Africans in general, and his debating skill, make him a natural choice for this role...
...But, as a Luo tribesman rather than a Kikuyu, he was not open to suspicion and managed to stay out of prison...
...After finishing secondary school Mboya went to work as a Department of Sanitation inspector...
...Since Kenya's Forces led by Mboya seek equal rights Nationalism trade-union movement was only in its infancy, a talented, educated man could rise rapidly and before long Mboya established the Kenya Federation of Trade Unions...
...The British Colonial Office still holds enough power to institute the reforms desired by Mbova and his colleagues...
...The strong showing by militant nationalist candidates surprised the British...
...many of Mboya's associates were imprisoned as suspects...
...The Arabs are given 3.) The 8 African representatives, therefore, are a small minority in a total of 54...
...The Mboya forces face a tough battle...
...Out of these has emerged a powerful new nationalist force led by the dynamic young trade-union leader Tom Mboya...
...They want an African majority among the elected representatives and are clearly determined to turn Kenya into a predominantly African colony similar to Uganda...
...A non-African minority of 2.5 per cent, they argue, cannot be allowed to dominate the country, even if it does own the industries and large farming developments...
...Mboya and the other elected Africans all denounced the election setup —as did the British Labor party— and have let it be known that they intend to form a Kenya-wide nationalist party...
...They consider the Lyttleton Constitution, which established the present ratio of representatives in the Legislative Council, to be null and void...
...Just prior to his American visit, Mboya completed a year's study at Ruskin College, Oxford...
...But it is becoming increasingly apparent that the advocates of multi-racial government are seeking to preserve white rule in areas which, by their very character, are predominantly African societies...
...As a part of the general reform program initiated under Governor Sir Evelyn Baring, London agreed that elections should be held for eight African seats in the white-settler-dominated Legislative Council...
...Those Africans who attack the concept are branded as "extremists" and "racists...
...But one day these societies will be predominantly African, and the sooner the European and Asian minorities accept this the greater will be their chances for peaceful, harmonious living...
...In fact, the settlers are now split between the extremists who propose a brand of apartheid for Kenya and those around Michael Blundel who favor a multi-racial government...
Vol. 40 • August 1957 • No. 32
