Happy Madaraka Day 2010

KiN Newsroom (1st. June 2010)

We wish all our readers, Kenyans at home and in the diaspora a happy Madaraka Day.

The road to Kenya's independence:
During the early part of the 20th century, the British and other European farmers settled in Kenya and became wealthy large scale farmers. By the 1930s, approximately 30 000 white settlers were in Kenya especially on the so called “white highlands” in the central part of the country.

These settlers were offered many political powers by the colonial government due to their effect on the economy. With time, Kenyans lost claims to their land as it was taken up by European settlers while Kenyans offered free constricted labour. To protect their interests, the settlers banned the growing of coffee by the Africans and introduced a hut tax, and the landless were granted less and less land in exchange for their labour. This gradually led to sharp reactions from the Africans which culminated into the Mau Mau warfare. (Mau Mau or Mzungu Arudi Ulaya, Mwafrika Apate Uhuru, meaning, the Europeans to go back to Europe for the Africans to be liberated/free).

From October 1952 to December 1959, Kenya was put under a state of emergency arising from the Mau Mau rebellion against the harsh and inhuman British colonial rule. In May 1953, the Home Guards were officially recognized as a branch of the colonial Security Forces by Britain. The Home Guard formed the core of the government's anti-Mau Mau strategy as it was composed of loyalist Africans, not foreign forces like the British Army and King's African Rifles.


By the end of the emergency in 1959, the Home Guards had killed 4,686 Mau Mau fighters, amounting to 42% of the total insurgents. The capture of Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956, in Nyeri signified the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau and essentially ended the military offensive. However, the nationalists continued with their unwavering pressure on the British government for independence both at home and abroad. Consequently, the first direct elections for Africans to the Legislative Council took place in 1957 (Wikipedia, 2009). On 12 December 1963, Jomo Kenyatta formed a government and later the country was proclaimed a Republic. Kenyatta became Kenya's first President.

Madaraka Day, which is marked annually on 1st June, commemorates the day that Kenya attained internal self-rule in 1963 and her full independence from the United Kingdom.
Today Kenya celebrates her 47th year of self rule. President Mwai Kibaki is at the Nyayo National stadium leading Kenyans in the celebrations which are also marked in various parts of the country.

Together with the President are Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Speaker Kenneth Marende and other top government officials.

Fact files & Wikipedia.