Kenya Land and Freedom Army
LeadersDedan Kimathi
Dates of operation1952–1960
NewspaperHigh Command [1]
Ideology
Size35,000+[2]
Opponents United Kingdom
Battles and warsMau Mau uprising

The Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, was a guerrilla army, formed mainly by the people of central and eastern Kenya, dominated by the Kikuyu people. It resisted British Colonial rule in Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion from 1952 to 1960.[3] The army was led by Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi. The rebellion was largely militarily defeated by the British by 1956 and Kimathi was executed by hanging in 1957. Kenya gained full independence in 1964.

The rebellion caused at least 11,000 deaths among the Mau Mau, including 1,090 executions of Mau Mau by hanging.[4] The British authorities also interned at least 80,000 Kikuyu in detention camps, with other estimates as high as 320,000.[5] The British also perpetrated massacres, including the Hola massacre, and employed the widespread use of torture.[6][7] The Mau Mau also committed numerous abuses, including the Lari massacre, and murdered at least 1,819 Kenyan civilians.[8]

Structure

An army platoon consisted of 500 up to 2,000 soldiers. In the latter case a General was assisted by a Colonel and a Brigadier.[3] Generals included Chui, Kassam Njogu, China, Stanley Mathenge, Kubu Kubu and Bamuingi. The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi, on 21 October 1956, fatally crippled the army, and ultimately ended the war. However, the army objective was achieved when Kenya attained self-government. General Bamuingi (People's General) led a team that was killed on the battlefield by the Kenyatta government. After independence in 1965 they had returned to the forest to fight after independence. They claimed that independence fundamentally benefited the 'barren' of the land (collaborators and moderates). Their bodies were paraded in Meru Township for three days as the last chiefs of the Mau-Mau freedom terrorists".[3]

Information systems

One of the most important achievements of the KFLA was that they were able to develop a robust and effective information system that combined oral experiences of ordinary Kenyans with print. Songs were produced to pass on important information and to raise political consciousness and at the same time newspapers would be published. The KFLA published over 50 newspapers in different languages such as Kiswahili, Gikuyu and other Kenyan languages. The KFLA also produced a large amount of sound recordings and had their own presses.[9]

References

  1. ^ Durrani, Shiraz. Mau Mau, the Revolutionary, Anti-Imperialist Force from Kenya, 1948-63: Selection from Shiraz Durrani's Kenya's War of Independence: Mau Mau and Its Legacy of Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism, 1948-1990. Vita Books, 2018.
  2. ^ Durrani, Shiraz. Mau Mau, the Revolutionary, Anti-Imperialist Force from Kenya, 1948-63: Selection from Shiraz Durrani's Kenya's War of Independence: Mau Mau and Its Legacy of Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism, 1948-1990. Vita Books, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "08 Gathogo (1) Gen Chui wa Mararo pdf | Julius Gathogo". Academia.edu. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Bloody uprising of the Mau Mau". BBC News. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Mau Mau uprising: Bloody history of Kenya conflict". The Guardian. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Mau Mau massacre documents revealed". BBC News. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Mau Mau". WNYC Studios. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  8. ^ Anderson, David (2005). Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-297-84719-9.
  9. ^ Durrani, Shiraz. Mau Mau, the Revolutionary, Anti-Imperialist Force from Kenya, 1948-63: Selection from Shiraz Durrani's Kenya's War of Independence: Mau Mau and Its Legacy of Resistance to Colonialism and Imperialism, 1948-1990. Vita Books, 2018.
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