The Mau Mau Uprising

 

On June 11 1920, Kenya was colonized by the British for their fertile land. They became part of British Africa with little to no advantages on their sides and experienced an unjust period for around 42 years. Their lands robbed, taxed heavily, and the people forced into labor work. Needless to say, it created resentment between the British and Kenyans. Many revolted, with the most significant one the Mau Mau Uprising. While they are regarded as terrorists, it was this uprising that ultimately led to the independence of Kenya.

The Mau Mau first started as a nationalist group dominated by Kikuyu people. The Kikuyu is the largest ethnic tribe in the colony and they suffered the most in the hands of the British. They pressed the British for their lands back, but with little to no results. As time progressed, radical members of the Mau Mau created a splinter militant group which used violence to drive away British authority. To be a part of that group, the native African had to take an oath. It was believed that if one break that oath, the repercussion would be death.

As the British didn't want the world to know that they were the reason for the war, they portrayed the Mau Mau as the culprits. In British news and media, they represented the Mau Mau as a barbaric and cult-like group who made it their job to raid both English settlers and local people alike. Meanwhile, they portrayed themselves as "saviors" and claimed to help the locals against the Mau Mau with weapons and soldiers. They labelled the locals that worked with them as loyalists, so it sounded like the war is between the Mau Mau and loyalists. They showed the British's compassion towards the locals in the broadcasts, such as British troops honoring a fallen local tribe leader, and predicting the Mau Mau's positions with Kenyan locals. In these broadcasts, there were no words about the British coming to Kenya to claim the lands. Now that we're able to gain more information about what really happened, we can see who the real culprit is. It was the British who was the real perpetrator of violence in Kenya.

It was true that Mau Mau killed thousands of their own tribe, those who are loyal to the British. However, the British also caused a great deal of deaths that they didn’t report. Many Kikuyu men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps with little food and poor sanitation and some were killed without trials, just because they were suspected to be part of the Mau Mau group. I think it’s a pity that so many lives were lost in the Mau Mau uprising, but at least the movement freed the Kenyans from the rule of the British.

Thus, I consider the Mau Mau as heroes of their country. Their determination for independence brought more troubles to the British than its worth. Even when the British had caught the Mau Mau's leader, Dedan Kimathi, the Mau Mau did not dwindle and continued to fight. While the British came for fertile land to plant crops, all they'd done is waste money on these wars. This results in the British granting them independence 3 years later.

If I were a Kikuyu, I would feel upset to be framed as a villain. I fought for my independence, then why would I be the "bad guy"? However, it is also difficult to judge an organization in times of war, as information may be hard to achieve. If the whole world listened to the British news during the time of war, I think many people would believe that the Mau Mau are terrorists. I am pleased that more information about the Mau Mau were discovered after the war and we can see their point of views about the event. It’s interesting to see that historical perspectives about a historical event could change greatly in years after. It’s always crucial to keep this in mind and be critical for new evidence and facts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_Uprising