1) KANU (Kenya African Union)
Was formed in 1944 by Eliud Mahu a member of Legco. It demanded increase of African representatives in legco; then Harry Thuki became the chairman but handled over the leadership to James Gichuru in 1945. In 1946 Kenyatta became the pre salient of the party. The party was mainly Kikuyu and had no strength beyond the central province. It was not possible for KANU to mobilize many people who were not literate and European hated many people who were not literate also European hated the party. The party was burned in 1952.
MauMau was armed struggle against the White settlers in Kenya in 1952- 1960 aimed at bringing independence quickly. The group was stated by KAU extreme must and ex-soldiers by the colonial government so African fought to remove such oppressive actions over them.
Causes.
- Land alienation:Colonial government alienated African land and gave it to the European settlers for production of cash crops and settlement. This made Africans to fight for the lost land.
- Loss of political freedom; Africans were deprived their right to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association.
- Poor standards of living among the Africans such as ex- soldiers of WWII and extremist group caused MauMau movement, and then had unemployment and their land had been alienated by the colonial government.
- Missionary inference in the Kikuyu culture especially female circumcision made Kikuyu to fight.
- Settler Monopoly in cash crops growing; Africans were not allowed to grow strategic cash crops such as coffee, tea, pyre-thrum in order to reduce competition. This made Africans to fight.
- Banning of political parties e.g. KANU in 1952.
- Kenya was a crown land; settlers regarded Kenya as a crown land and were refusing to grant independence to African because they had invested much in industries and agriculture so Africans had to take up arms for their Liberation.
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Effects of MauMau Movement
1. Depopulation More than 13,000 people– Asians, civilians, Europeans and freedom fighter lost their lives.
2. Many people were forced into reserves and detention camps where they suffered harsh treatments and bad living conditions.
3. It created fear and worries of being killed especially in the central province where most fighting took place.
4. MauMau forced the British to speed up independence to other colonies e.g. Tanganyika.
5. It brought high costs amounting to pounds 50,000 to Kenya colonial government and the British as underground movement in Nairobi in 1946.
The MauMau group was annoyed by slow pace of constitutional change and the settler declaration in 1950 that “we are here to stay and all races must accept that and all it implies”.
Aims of MauMau Movement
1. To kill all Europeans and Africans who support them.
2. To bring Kenya independence as soon as possible.
3. To speed up writing of a just constitution.
4. Ending alienation among the Kikuyu.
Participants in MauMau Movement
1. Leaders – Waritiu Otote – General China
Dedan Kimathi
Jomo Kenyatta
Others were;
2. Kikuyu waged laborers, ex-soldiers from WWII and other dissatisfied groups.
Causes of MauMau Movement
1. Land alienation: Colonial government alienated African land and gave it to the European settlers for production of cash crops and settlement. This made Africans to fight for the lost land.
2. Forced labour; Africans were forced to work in settler’s farms colonial government ensured constant supply of African labour by passing various labour ordinances e.g. Native master relation labor ordinance of 1921 which required African to carry identity – Kipande system to show completion of a task in settler’s farm. This annoyed Africans.
3. Taxation imposed on African led to the outbreak of MauMau. The people were highly taxed and those who failed were punished British learnt a lesson that their administrative created grievance and discontent among the African.
PROBLEMS/OBSTACLES THAT HINDERED THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE IN KENYA.
1. Settlers opposition Nationalistic struggle; settlers opposed nationalistic struggles because they feared that once Kenya became Independent, Africans would grab their land.
2. Tribalism among the Africans divided Africans in the fight for independence. Political parties such as KANU and KADU were formed in tribal basis.
3. Personality clashes between leaders in some political parties.
DECOLONIZATION PROCESS IN UGANDA
The emergence of Nationalistic ideas in Uganda was delayed due to the following factors;
1. Militant nationalism did not emerge early.
2. Forced labor and land alienation were not critical in Uganda.
3. Indirect rule favored the growth of local autonomy to some extent. Because of this many rules became conservatives.
4. Lack of political force in the legislative council.
Political parties in Uganda.
The first nationalistic movement to emerge in Uganda was Uganda National Congress.(U.N.C) in 1952. It drew its members from civil servants, petty bourgeoisie and traders. It was formed in reaction to Buganda prominence in Uganda politics.
Democratic Party (DP) was formed by Roman Catholic chief called Kiwanuka. The party was both religious and class based.
Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) was formed by Milton Obote. It was dominated by Protestants and civil servant.
Kabaka Yekka Party (KY) was formed by Kabaka to present the interest of Buganda chiefs. This wanted Buganda to be granted independence separately.
Question: Uganda got her independence through constitutional means why?
All the above parties participated in 1962 election but no one won, the majority voted in the Legico. This led the formation of coalition government by two parties – UPC and Kabaka Yakka. Obote became the prime minister and Kabaka a president; In 1966 Kabaka was overthrown and Obote became president.
Factors that hindered Nationalistic struggles in Uganda.
1. Tribalism; Tribes in Uganda such as Baganda and Bunyoro didn’t unite and struggle for Independence.
2. Religious conflicts; The Roman Catholic introduced by the French and Protestant introduced by the British were always in antagonism. This weakened nationalistic struggles.
3. Regionalism; the southern Uganda was more developed than the Northern parties in terms of social amenities. So it was difficult this parts to unite and fight for independence.
4. Class division. The major problem was land tenure system whereby the Buganda agreement between Kabaka Daudi and the British divided the land in the crown land and Malolanda (common land).
5. Education. The Buganda was more favored in education those other tribes. This discounted people.
6. Poverty.
DECOLONIZATION THROUGH CONSTITUTIONAL/PEACEFUL MEANS
Meaning of decolonization through peaceful means. This refers to the process of independence struggle through peaceful means that is without the use of armed struggle. Some African countries which used this means were Tanganyika ( now Tanzania), Uganda, Gold coast (Ghana)
(a) TANGANYIKA (TANZANIA)
The conditions which facilitated constitutional/peaceful struggle for independence in Tanganyika were as follows
i. Tanganyika was a mandated colony under the British since 1945 thus a UN delegation had always made follow up to ensure that Tanganyika was prepared to be self-governing
ii. The role played the mass media such as SAUTI YA TANU newspaper which was very much used by TANU to spread its policies and mass mobilization enabled TANU to have mass support not only in the urban centre’s but also in the remote areas where there was some literacy.
iii. The wide use of Kiswahili as a lingua franca throughout the country. Kiswahili was spoken y a large population in Tanganyika. Therefore, it eased communication and brought unity among the people of Tanganyika.
The problems experienced during the struggle for independence in Tanganyika
i. Opposition from other political parties like ANC and UTP. United Tanganyika party ( UTP) preferred racial parity in making the government while TANU was against that. TANU was based on the general interests, such as cattle tax, terracing and destocking. TANU called for democratic election of the legislative council (LEGCO) and demanded democracy.
ii. The British colonial government made everything possible to ban TANU by calling it an illegal movements. The civil servants were also prevented from joining the party. The colonial government sponsored the formation of reactionary organizations such as United Tanganyika party (UTP) which was formed by the chiefs and Europeans in 1956. United Tanganyika party claimed that independence was not necessary, but Tanganyika should continue its affiliation with the colonial power.
DECOLONIZATION THROUGH ARMED STRUGGLE
Armed struggle is the struggle for freedom through the use of weapons. It was the way which were applied by some African countries during the struggle for political independence. African countries like Kenya, Algeria and the former Portuguese colonies like Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and Angola got their independence through armed struggle.
Some African countries used armed means in their independence struggle. Among those countries are Zimbabwe ( Southern Rhodesia), Kenya and Mozambique.
REASONS FOR THE ARMED STRUGGLE
The following were the reasons for the armed struggle for independence
i. The colonial powers were not ready to freely grant freedom to countries like Kenya, Algeria Mozambique, Angola and Guinea Bissau
ii. The colonial powers rejected the UNO and OAU instructions to grant independence to these countries. Therefore the only solution to attain independence was through the armed struggle because the settlers and their activities of land alienation and forced labour were not ready to leave their plantations in the colony.
iii. The colonial regimes were un popular among the people. Therefore the African people used various methods including the armed struggle in order to regain their lost freedom
iv. The colonial power did not want to abandon their colonies as they viewed them as overseas territories. For example Portugal regarded Mozambique as one of its overseas territories. The colonialists to grant independence to their colonies.
v. Colonial power granted Independence to the minority for example in the case of Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in the southern Rhodes( Zimbabwe)
DECOLONISATION THROUGH REVOLUTION
Revolution is the process of removing the existing government. OR
Is a discontented reaction through violence exercised by the majority of the country population inorder to gain recognition or reform when legal and moderate means of political or social change fail.
The known African revolutions are the Zanzibar Revolution of 1964 led by John Titto Okello, the Egypt Revolution of 1952 led by Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Zanzibar revolution began in Mid 1950s. Before that there were associations which did not press for independence but welfare of different races that lives in the Isle.
Associations before Mid 1950 were based on races e.g.;
1. Arab association was formed by Arab rich families against the British to press for compensation to the Arab slave owners after abolition of slave trade.
2. Africans association formed in 1934, it was affiliated to Tanganyika association.
3. Shiraz association formed in 1939 in Pemba to speak for African population like Timbuktu, Hamidu and Pemba.
4. The Indian association.
After 1955 the people of Zanzibar formed political parties to struggle for independence. This was due to economic hardship and crisis in marketing cloves after WWII and colonial exploitation.
The political parties that were formed during struggles for independence were;
1. Zanzibar Nationalist party (Z.N.P) formed out of Arab association by Sheikh Al Mahsin Barwan 1955. It demanded Multiracial Zanzibar in order to get support from the Africans majority but in principal it served the Arab Minority.
2. Afro – Shiraz party (A.S.P) it was formed out of African association and Shiraz association in 1957. Sheikh Aman Karume was the chairperson and Thabit Kombo was a secretary.
– It was a racial party because it was supported by Africans from Zanzibar and mainland.
3. Zanzibar and Pemba People’s Party (Z.P.P.P) was formed in 1959 by Shiraz racial group that had conflict with people of Mainland origin and ASP. It was formed by Mohamed Shante and Musa from Pemba and Tajo from Zanzibar.
4. UMMA Party; formed in 1963 by Abdurrahman Mohamed Babu, after splitting from Z.N.P.
The Zanzibar Revolution.
Zanzibar revolution was a complete overthrow of the Arab government by the Africans who were subjected to it. It was a fundamental alteration of principle and practices of Arab Sultan government by the African people.
The Revolution was organized by the ASP under sheikh Aman Karume with the support from Umma party under Mohamed Babu in 12 Jan 1964.
The group of armed people who physically took part in revolution was led by John Okelo – a Lango young man from Uganda. This was secretary of A.S.P young wing in Pemba.
The group attacked the new government and Sultan by surprise. It succeed to capture the police amour in Ziwan then radio station, custrus, airports, post office, hospital and the prison at Mazarin by using knives, axes, hammers, bows and arrows. The armed men got guns after capturing the police station.
The sultan escaped to Mombasa and many officials were killed. Mohamed Shamte went into exile in Arabian. The revolution was successful in Sunday morning 12 Jan 1964, the revolution government was set up with Karume as the president and Hanya the Vice president, Babu and others Asp members were ministers of the new government.
Aims of Revolution.
a) To adjust social and economic inequalities between the African Majority and the Arab Minority.
b) To remove Sultan domination over Africans in Zanzibar.
c) To eradicate British colonial interest and destroy capitalism in Zanzibar.
d) To bring socialism in this there will be no exploitation of man by man.
Causes of revolution
Zanzibar attained its independence in Dec. 1963 from the British. Africans under ASP-(Afro Shiraz Party) recognized that independence granted in 1963 was a way for Arabs. Africans had still to struggle to win Independence. This is war forced Revolution in Jan 12 1964.
Main causes
1. Exploitation of Africans by the Arab’s government, Africans were dissatisfied by Arabs Mass exploitation so they decided to overthrow the government.
2. Economic difficulties caused by the World wide drop in price of cloves, This made government to reduce expenditure on social service, schools were closed, teachers became unemployed and medical facilities were cut down. This gave rise to group of unemployed who were suffering peasants to join and over throw the government.
3. Historical differences and grievances between Arabs and Africans in Zanzibar, since the establishment of Arab administration and clove plantation in Zanzibar by Seyyid Said. Since then the relation between Arabs and Africans determinate Arabs made Africans slaves. So Africans brought revolution against this domination.
4. Land alienation problem, Arabs owned large portion of fertile land and employed Africans as labours in cloves and coconut plantations. The Africans became helpless peasant, Fisher men and squatter in Arab farms. This facilitated revolution.
5. Monopolization of trade by the foreigners i.e. Asians monopolized commercial life in Zanzibar thus made people to fight.
6. British colonial legacy, The British left the Arabs to dominate all key sectors because they were their friend and puppets. Africans were less favored in employment opportunities example in civil services etc.
7. The role of John Okello, he mobilized people to do surprise attack and maintain secrecy.
8. The election result of 1961 and 1963, These elections were not fairly conducted on the side ASP. The Africans were not satisfied with these elections which gave power to Arab Minority hence they decided to overthrow the government.
9. Dictatorship of Mohamed Shamte, The government surprised the political right of Africans. E.g. Vigul to freedom of association.
10. Discrimination of Africans by the Arabs, Africans were not treated equally with the Arabs.
Benefits of Zanzibar Revolution.
The Africans who had lost their land got it back. The government nationalized plantations and distributed among Africans to grow crops.
The government built schools and colleges to provide educated freely up to university level.
3. The government promoted peoples’ participation in government, hash ranking jobs which were held by the Arabs were given to Africans. To date the head of government is African.
The government built good houses in different areas and distributed them to people freely; they were built in Uelen, Chakechake, and Mkwajuni.
Transport; Government brought ships like MV Mapinduzi, MV Maendeleo to provide transport to the people, also government constructed roads to improve means of transport.
6. Before revolution, people of Zanzibar were known as citizen of Sultan but after revolution people were given citizenship of Zanzibar.
7. The union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar 26 April, 1964.
Strengths of the Zanzibar Revolution
The following were some of the strength of the Zanzibar revolution of 1964
- It managed to adjust the social and economic inequalities in Zanzibar Islands
- It removed Arab regime from power by force.
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Weaknesses of the Zanzibar revolution of 1964
The following were some of the weaknesses of the Zanzibar revolution of 1964
- Some people lost their lives during the revolution
- It was pioneered by a non-citizen, who led the revolution with a few young men
- Some shops and properties were looted
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