Colonial Strife: The White Settler Invasion and Subjugation of Kenyan Tribes in the Early 20th Century
By 1920, unapologetic white settlers controlled Kenya’s prime agricultural lands, employing divide-and-rule strategies that ignited intercommunity conflicts.
The Colonisation of Kenya/Courtesy
In the early 1900s, a mysterious influx of foreigners with an unfamiliar appearance disrupted the lives of Kenyan tribes residing in the highlands and fertile lands. These visitors, later revealed as white settlers, employed forceful tactics to displace native Africans, seizing the most fertile areas for themselves.
By 1920, unapologetic white settlers controlled Kenya’s prime agricultural lands, employing divide-and-rule strategies that ignited intercommunity conflicts. The invasion, marked by violence and coercion, resulted in the deaths of numerous Africans through intercommunity wars and the use of firearms by the white settlers.
Detention camps became grim symbols of resistance, where Africans faced torture, death, and enslavement. Over the span of 50 years, thousands of Kenyan black people suffered torture, displacement, and death, with the remaining population forced into servitude on the farms or as collaborators in the oppressive colonial governance.
Colonial military expeditions further fueled genocides and forced migrations among various Kenyan tribes, eroding indigenous leadership and sovereignty. The irony of British indirect rule was evident as collaborative agents and porters were elevated to leadership positions, reflecting British directives rather than the consensus of the community leaders.
As colonial rule persisted, especially impacting the Agikuyu community, many Kenyans found themselves stripped of their ancestral lands, grappling with the enduring consequences of a tumultuous colonial history.
And as the country celebrate it’s 60th Jamuhuri day kenyans have a lot of different things and people they are proud of from leaders to government to freedom of speech to 2010 constitution and other things
Report by JESSE ABISHECK
Email abijessyshi@gmail.com
About Author
