XXXX_Kenya Historical Chronology

Colonial Kenya Historical Chronology

13th century	City of Gedi is founded
1331	Mombasa is mentioned by Ibn Battuta (1304 to 1368) in his account of his second journey
1402	First written record of Lamu
1415	Malindi sent the gift of a giraffe to the Emperor of China
1493	The Portuguese reached Malindi
1498	Vasco da Gama reached Mombasa and Malindi
1503	The Portuguese reached Zanzibar
1505	Mombasa sacked by Francisco d’Almeida
1592	The Portuguese built Fort Jesus at Mombasa
1631	Yusuf ibn Hassan massacred the Portuguese in Mombasa and demolished Fort Jesus
1635	The Portuguese reoccupied Mombasa and rebuilt Fort Jesus
1660	The Omanis are attacked Mombasa
1696 - 1698	The Omanis siege Mombasa over 2 years and expel the Portuguese
1728 - 1730	The Portuguese again hold Mombasa
1821 - 1826	Captain William Fitzwilliam Wentworth Owen (1774 - 1857) survey the east and west coasts of Africa
1822	The Moresby Treaty. Britain and Oman agree to forbid trading of slaves between Omani subjects and the subjects of any Christian power. British naval vessels authorised to seize Arab slave trading vessels. Slave trading permitted between Muslims within Oman’s dominions.(September)
1824	Captain Owen is appointed Lieutenant J. J. Reitz Commandant of Mombasa - the British Government repudiates this appointment
1840	By this date, Zanzibar has become the capital of Oman and Said bin Sultan’s permanent residence
1844	German missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf arrives in east Africa to work with the Church Missionary Society (CMS)
1845	Hamerton Treaty: Oman agrees to British demands that the shipment of slaves from Oman’s African dominions to Oman’s possessions in Asia be forbidden. British vessels empowered to confiscate Omani vessels caught breaking the law. (October)
1846	Krapf and Johann Rebmann set up a Christian Missionary Society MS mission station at Rabai, near Mombasa
1848	Rebmann reports snow on Mount Kilimanjaro but is disbelieved by European experts
1849	Krapf confirms the existence of snow on Mount Kilimanjaro
1869	Suez Canal opens
1873	The Sultan of Zanzibar signs a treaty with the British (Sir Bartle Frere) closing the Zanzibari slave market and forbidding the sea carriage of slaves
1875	Rebels against Zanzibar rule are bombarded in Fort Jesus by the British. Sir Bartle Frere establishes a haven for emancipated slaves at Freretown, run by the Christain Missionary Society
1884	Hannington, the first Anglican Bishop of east Africa arrives. He is murdered the following year at Busoga, Uganda Carl Peters sets up the “Society for German Colonisation” and marches into Tanzania, returning three weeks later with treaties signed by 10 chiefs in which they give away their territories for the “exclusive and universal utilisation of German colonisation”.
1885	Fourteen countries meet at the Berlin Conference, called by the German Chancellor, between 15 November 1884 and 26 February 1885. The conference paves the way for the colonisation of equatorial Africa, establishes a pan equatorial African free trade zone, imposes freedom of navigation on inland rivers and lakes, and imposes restrictions on the transport of slaves. The Conference becomes the act of departure for the scramble for Africa in east Africa.
1886	Anglo-German Agreement is signed dividing the east African hinterland into British and German spheres of influence and establishing the suzerainty of the Sultan of Zanzibar over a strip of coastline 10 miles deep extending from Tunghi Bay (Baia de Tungue) in the south (on today’s Tanzania - Mozambique border) to Kipini 50 kilometers south of Lamu (in today’s Kenya). Territory extending to a 10-mile radius land-side of Brava, Merka and Kismayo, and a 5 mile radius of Mogadishu, is also declared the Sultan’s territory.
1887	The Sultan of Zanzibar grants a 50-year concession of the 10-mile coastal strip between the River Umba and Kipini to Sir William MacKinnon (March) Sir William MacKinnon establishes the British East Africa Company (later the Imperial British East Africa Company - the ‘IBEA’) (May) The IBEA signs treaties with 21 chiefs in the interior, including those from the Galla, Digo, Kamba and Teita tribes exchanging protection for the right to govern their territories.
1887 - 1888	Count Teleki’s expedition into the interior
1888	Sir William McKinnon’s Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEA) is incorporated as a royal charter company (September) Count Teleki discovers Lake Nakuru and Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana) Sultan Barghash al Busaidi of Zanzibar dies
1889	The Abushiri Revolt erupts along the Tanganyikan and Kenyan coasts. Germany sends a military force to Zanzibar and defeats the revolt’s ring leader, Abushiri bin Salim al Harthi, at Bagamayo. The IBEA pays the masters of 1422 run-away slaves sheltering in Mombasa missions $25 a head to renounce their ownership
1890	Anglo-German agreement. Lord Salisbury cedes Heligoland to Germany. Germany renounces all claims to Witu, Uganda and other adjacent territories and recognises British protectorate over Zanzibar, Pemba and parts of the mainland. Kilimanjaro is assigned to Germany. (July) Sir Francis de Winton is appointed administrator of IBEA territories The Brussels Act - European powers agree measures to deal with slavery in Africa: organisation of administrative, religious, judicial and military services in African territories; strongly occupied interior stations; construction of roads & railways; organisation of expeditions & mobile columns; restrictions on import of fire-arms. (July) MacKinnon Road built linking Mombasa and Kibwezi
1891	Britain agrees to lease the coastal strip from the Sultan of Zanzibar. Britain and Italy sign a protocol agreeing the boundary between British and Italian spheres of influence in east Africa would run up the Juba River to the point it intersects with the parallel 6°N and then along this parallel to the parallel 35°E. The IBEA signs treaties with chiefs on the Juba River and Benadir Coast ‘(placing) …. (the chief’s) Territories … and subjects under the protection, rule, and Government of the IBEA, and (ceding) all sovereign rights and rights of Government over (the chief’s) territories, peoples and subjects … in consideration of (the IBEA) granting (their) protection’
1891 - 1892	Captain J.R.L Macdonald carries out a preliminary enquiry concerning the construction of a railway line linking Mombasa and Uganda
1892	The Gazette for Zanzibar and East Africa is published for the first time in Zanzibar. Gold is found in Logorien. Sir Gerald H. Portal is appointed commissioner and consul-general. The IBEAC courts of justice are opened in Mombasa.
1893	Coffee is first planted in Kibwezi and the Taita Hills. An additional frontier agreement is signed with Germany.
1894	The IBEA surrenders its charter to the British Government. The East Africa Protectorate is proclaimed. Sir Arthur Hardinge is appointed the first commissioner of the new protectorate.
01 July 1895 - 7 October 1900: Hardinge, Sir Arthur (Commissioner)
1895	The mainland territories of the Sultan of Zanzibar are placed under British administration by the Sultan of Zanzibar. The East Africa Protectorate is formed to administer the area, under the supervision of the Foreign Office. Work begins at Mombasa on the construction of the Uganda Railway. The IBEA hands over to the British Government its territory between Naivasha and the coast. The area is folded into the East African Protectorate with the Sultan of Zanzibar’s mainland territories. The Mazrui revolt breaks out. The Church Missionary Society establishes its first bush schools. Sir Percy Anderson, of the Foreign Office, is appointed chairman of the committee supervising the construction of the Uganda Railway. The East African Rifles are raised.
1896	‘Regulation and Protection of Porters’ document issued. Mandated registration of porters for all journeys over 10 days - required deposits to be lodged, porters loads to be less than 34 kilograms, restrictions on punishment for desertions etc, medical supplies to be carried and adequate clothing to be supplied.
1897	Regulations are issued permitting the lease to Europeans of land not in use - The East African Lands Regulations. The first annual report of the new protectorate is issued. Order in Council establishes Her Majesty’s Court for East Africa. Decrees that procedures in court should be the same as in the case of courts set up by the Governor of Bombay. Also decrees “any other existing or future enactments of the Governor General in Council, or of the Governor of Bombay in Council, shall also be applicable to the protectorate”.
1898	Order in Council gives Government power to acquire, but not alienate, land.
7 September 1900 - 30 December 1900: Crauford, C H (acting Commissioner) 30 December 1900 - 20 May 1904: Eliot, Sir Charles (Commissioner)
1898 - 1900	Colonel Edward Grogan and A.H. Sharp cross Africa from South to North.
1898	German East Africa Line (D.O.A.L) begins to call at Mombasa, from Hamburg, once a month
1899	Nairobi is founded Muthaiga is founded by Sgt. Ellis of the Royal Engineers. Sir Halford Mackinder climbs Mount Kenya (17,040 feet). The Official Gazette of the East African Territory starts publication in Nairobi. Sir Harry Johnstone is appointed to make an extensive report on the protectorate. The silver rupee of India becomes the standard coin in the protectorate. In June 1899 the Uganda rail-head reaches Nairobi Machakos Famine
1900	Sir Charles Eliot is appointed the protectorate’s commissioner. Kenya and Uganda’s combined annual exports amount to £71,000, imports to £450,000.
1901	‘Port Florence’ (now Kisumu) is reached by the Uganda Railway (Mombasa to Kisumu: 587 miles). A Hut Tax is introduced. It is the first tax to be imposed on Kenyan Africans (but initially used in South Africa from 1857). It is charged at a rate of 1 rupee per hut and can be paid in cash or kind. Sir Harry Johnstone recommends that Uganda and the East Africa Protectorate should be put under administration.
1902	The protectorate boundaries are adjusted. Naivasha, the Western Highlands and the Eastern Province of Uganda are transferred from Uganda to Kenya. Become the Nyanza and Rift Valley Provinces of the East African Protectorate. Sir James Hayes Sadler is appointed commissioner. Joseph Chamberlain, foreign secretary, visits Kenya. Coffee planting is introduced in the White Highlands. The first Blue Book for the territory is published. The East Africa Ordinance in Council gives the Commissioner powers to make ordinances for justice, revenue-raising and the maintenance of good government. The East African Rifles becomes Third Battalion of the Kings African Rifles (KAR). The Crown Land Ordinance 1902 is passed (repealing the East African Land Registrations, 1897). Authorises the Commissioner of the East Africa Protectorate to grant land leases of up to 99 years. Lots of up to 1,000 acres could be purchased freehold, with approval of the Secretary of State required for areas greater than 1,000 acres. Precludes the Commissioner from selling or leasing “any land in the occupation of the natives”. (September) The first white settlers arrive to take up land in the East African protectorate
1903	The Mombasa Memorial Cathedral is founded in tribute to Bishop Hannington. The Uganda Railway is completed. The number of settlers in the country is announced as 100: they form the Colonists Association. The first allocations of land are made to European settlers. An experimental dairy station is set up in Naivasha.
20 May 1904 - 01 August 1904: Jackson, Frederick (acting Commissioner) 01 August 1904 - 01 October 1905: Stewart, Sir Donald (Commissioner)
1904	Sir Donald Stewart is appointed commissioner First Masai treaty signed. The Masai from Suswa, Ol Kalou and Ol Jororok are relocated to Laikipia. (August). Norfolk Hotels opens: settler and safari meeting point in Nairobi and, with the Muthaiga Club, iconic symbol of the settler presence in Kenya.
01 October 1905 - 12 December 1905: Jackson, Frederick (acting Commissioner) 12 December 1905 - 12 April 1909: Sadler, Sir James Hay (Initially Commissioner - the last ‘Commissioner’ - then title changed to Governor in July 1906 - the first ‘Governor’)
1905	Zionists reject the British Government’s offer of the White Highlands as a national home. An executive council is appointed. The Colonial Office takes over control of the East African Protectorate from the Foreign Office (togethor with the protectorates of Uganda, Central Africa and British Somaliland). The government is transferred from Mombasa to Nairobi.
1906	The protectorate (apart from the Sultan of Zanzibar’s dominions) is placed under the control of a governor and commander-in-chief. Report of the Land Commission, which affirms that the highlands “should be reserved for the support and maintenance of a white population” (April) Secretary of State for the Colonies Lord Elgin accepts the principle that land lying between Kiu and Fort Ternan should be granted to European settlers only. The Nandi rebellion is suppressed. A Kenya Order in Council establishes a Legislative Council on which non-officials have nominated seats. Sir Hayes Sadler is appointed first Governor and commander-in-chief. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught visits Nairobi and unveils a statue of Queen Victoria.
1907	Nairobi replaces Mombasa as the capital of Kenya. The first meeting the Legislative Council (LEGCO) is held. Winston Churchill, Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, visits East Africa. The Abolition fo Slavery Ordinance, the first legislative act passed by a Kenyan Legislative Council, abolishes the legal status of slavery on the Sultan of Zanzibar’s coastal strip. Government House built in Nairobi.
1908	A joint Anglo-Abyssinian commission is appointed to define the northern boundary of Kenya in greater detail (the boundary is further redefined in 1947). Separate gazettes for Kenya and Uganda are inaugurated, the Kenya publication being entitled Official Gazette for the East Africa Protectorate. Arrival of the Boers from the Transvaal: 47 Afrikaner families led by Jansen van Rensburg trek by ox-wagon to the Uasin Gishu plateau to settle. Secretary of State for the Colonies Lord Elgin accepts that, for a matter of “administrative convenience”, grants of land in the highlands should not be made to Indians.
12 April 1909 - 16 September 1909: Bowring, Charles (acting Governor) 16 September 1909 - 17 July 1912: Girouard, Sir Percy (Governor)
1909	Theodore Roosevelt, and his son Kermit, set out from Nairobi on a big game hunting safari. Sir Percy Girouard is appointed Governor and commander-in-chief. The first Miocene fossils from East Africa are discovered at Karungu.
1910	The Lutheran Church of Kenya and the National Museum is founded at Nairobi. The Muthari Mental Hospital opens outside Nairobi: beds for 2 European and 8 African patients.
1911	The population includes 3,175 Europeans and 11,886 Asians. Professor Kattwinkel, a German entomologist, discovers the Olduvai palaeontological site Second Masai Treaty is signed. Masai are moved from Laikipia to Narok and Kajiado.
17 July 1912 - 04 October 1912: Bowring, Charles (acting Governor) 04 October 1912 - 14 April 1917: Belfield, Sir Henry (Governor)
1912	Sir Harry H. Belfield is appointed Governor and commander-in-chief. Alta and Fred Hoyt found the American Friends’ Mission at Kaimosi. Native Labour Commission Report (the Barth Commission Report) - seminal investigation into labour matters, the results of interviews with over 200 European and over 60 African witnesses. Highlighted many injustices and shortcomings. The African National Congress (ANC) is founded to advance the cause of political equality for black South Africans.
1913	Railway extensions to Thika and Magadi are opened. The administration’s goal of self-sufficiency is achieved and grants-in-aid from Britain are no longer deemed necessary. ‘Olduvai Man’ is discovered by Hans Reck. Muthaiga Country Club opens: settler meeting point in Nairobi and, with the Norfolk Hotel, iconic symbol of the settler presence in Kenya.
1914	General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck harasses the Uganda Railway.
1915	LEGCO approves the Crown Lands Ordinance, 1915 The Colonial Office approves an ordinance - ‘Registration Ordinance’ - to initiate a system of registration of African men but orders that it be suspended until after the war. (August)
1916	General Smuts succeeds General Smith-Dorrien as commander of the East African forces. Invades German East Africa and forces Germans into long drawn out retreat. The British gain complete control of the coastline. Colonial Office accepts the principle of electoral representation in LEGCO for Europeans
14 April 1917 - 01 February 1919: Bowring, Charles (acting Governor)
1917	A Customs Union is established between Kenya and Uganda.
1918	General von Lettow-Vorbeck surrenders to a battalion of the King’s African Rifles at Abercorn in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia).
01 February 1919 - 28 August 1922: Northey, Major-General, Sir Edward (Governor)
1919	Major-General Sir Edward Northey is appointed governor and commander-in-chief of the East African forces. The League of Nations grants trusteeship of Tanganyika to Britain. Nairobi is designated a municipality. Electoral Registration Bill introducing the principle of electoral registration in LEGCO for Europeans (February) The London selection board for the Soldier Settler Scheme completes its work (August) Governor Northey issues Labour Circular calling upon all administrative officials and African chiefs to take an active role in labour recruitment for European settlers. (October). The registration of African males is begun in Nairobi with the issue of the kipande. For the rest of the colony, the system is inaugurated in 1920.
1920	A single currency is introduced into the East African territories, at first florins then shillings and cents, under the administration of the East African Currency Board. The Kenya Government cuts the link between the Kenya shilling and the rupee and links it to sterling. The conversion rate effectively doubles the real value of Kenyan farmers' overdrafts. There is widespread (peaceful) protest. By the Kenya (Annexation) Order in Council, the protectorate (apart from the coastal strip) is annexed to the Crown as the Colony of Kenya, the coastal strip being renamed the Kenya Protectorate. The country is now called ‘Kenya Colony and Protectorate’. The Kikuyu Association is founded.
1921	The Young Kikuyu Association is founded under Harry Thuku. The rupee is converted to the florin. The High Court is established.
31 August 1922 - 10 December 1925: Coryndon, Sir Robert (Governor)
1922	All Saints Cathedral is founded in Nairobi. The Bowring Commission recommends the abolition of export duties, the institution of protective tariffs, the abolition of income tax, cuts in government expenditure, and the encouragement of growing low price produce, such as maize. Harry Thuku, Kikuyu activist, is deported to Kismayu after he foments protest in Nairobi, which leads to shooting by the police of a number of his supporters The British Mandate for East Africa is awarded. Sir Robert Coryndon is appointed governor and commander-in-chief.
1923	The Colonial Secretary, the Duke of Devonshire, issues a White Paper declaring that African interests must be paramount, although minorities would not lose their rights. The East Africa Committee, under Lord Southborough, recommends the setting up of an East Africa committee. The Nandi protest against high taxation, forced employment on European farms, and the loss of land to the British British cabinet approves the white paper, Indians in Kenya.
1924	Devonshire White Paper declares paramountcy of African interests. Five seats in LEGCO given to Indians and immigration restrictions on Indians removed.
10 February 1925 - 03 October 1925: Demha, Edward (acting Governor) 03 October 1925 - 27 September 1930: Grigg, Sir Edward (later Lord Altrincham) (Governor)
1925	The railway is extended to Eldoret on the Uasin Gishu plateau, and ultimately to Kampala in Uganda. The Mombasa trolley system is closed and the rails pulled up. Local Native Councils are introduced.
1926	Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) is founded. Commercial tea plantations established at Kericho.
1924 -1926	The Alliance High School, the Native Industrial Training Depot, and Jeane’s School are founded.
1924	Treaty is signed with Italy under which Britain cedes Juba river to Italy from 29 June 1925. The cession of Kismayo and the Juba territories to Italy (33,000 sq miles) reduces the area of Kenya to 224,000 sq. miles. District councils are created by the Native Authority (Amendment) Ordinance. The Ormsby-Gore Commission is sent to Kenya. The Duke and Duchess of York visit Kenya.
1925	The Young Kikuyu Association’s name is changed to the Kikuyu Central Association. The East African Commission is set up under the chairmanship of Ormsby-Gore. Its recommendations include the institution of a Governor’s conference of the East African territories. Sir Edward Grigg (later Lord Altrincham) is appointed governor and commander-in-chief.
1926	The International African Institute is founded in London. The Khartoum-Kisumu flying boat service is inaugurated. Dr L.S.B. Leakey discovers the Hyrax Hill prehistoric site. An inter-colonial advisory council is set up to supervise railway policy. The first Governors’ Conference is held to discuss matters of common East African interest and is attended by the Governors of Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia and the resident of Zanzibar. Local native councils are established. Rudolf Province is transferred from Uganda to Kenya.
1927	The three East African territories operate a customs union through the Customs Management Ordinance. The Indian Community accept five seats on the Legislative Council; Europeans are to have 11 seats. The colony suffers severely from drought. The publication of the annual Blue Book is resumed. Airmail is first flown from Jinja to Kisumu. A White Paper, Future Policy in regard to East Africa, is published, urging the federation of the three East African territories should be borne in mind. A commission of inquiry is set up under Sir Edward Hilton Young. Its Report of the Commission on Closer Union of the Dependencies in Eastern and Central Africa, supports the idea of ultimate union.
1928-34	Invasion by locust storms devastate crops and pastures throughout east Africa.
1928	The railway line from Nakuru to Jinja is completed. Jomo Kenyatta becomes general secretary of the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) and editor of its newsletter, Muigwathania. Mombasa is designated a municipality.
1929	P. Wyn Harris and Eric Shipton conquer the Nelion Peak (17,000 feet) of Mount Kenya. Dr Leakey’s second East African Expedition discovers the Kariandusi prehistoric site. The effect of the prolonged drought intensified by an invasion of locusts. Sir Samual Wilson, permanent under-secretary for the colonies, visits East Africa and submits a report on the idea of ‘closer union’. The system of European district councils is introduced. Sir Edward Grigg appoints a committee to report on the Kikuyu system of land tenure Kenyatta leaves Kenya for London to represent the Kenya Central Association there (March).
27 October 1930 - 13 February 1931: Moore, Sir Henry Monck-Mason (Governor)
1930	The Governor's Conference is made an annual event. To help farmers weather the general adverse economic situation a maize subsidy is introduced and freight charges for cereal reduced. The Native Lands Trust Ordinance is approved: it declares that all reserves should be set aside for the benefit of the African peoples concerned, in perpetuity. A native lands trust board is set up. A White Paper, issued by the British Government, entitled Statement of the conclusion of HM’s government in the United Kingdom as regards closer union in East Africa is issued for the consideration of both houses of Parliament. The Coryndon (now National) Museum is opened by Sir Edward Grigg Crisis over female circumcision promotes the creation of independent schools movement among Kikuyu. Start of the world depression provokes a severe drop in commodity prices and widespread poverty and distress in east Africa. Coryndon Museum opens.
13 February 1931 - 22 December 1936: Byrne, Sir Joseph (Governor)
1931	The Uganda Railway reaches Kampala. The Joint Parliamentary Committee issues its report Report and minutes of evidence, recommending that whatever cooperation and control is considered advisable should be achieved through the Governors’ Conference. Airmail is first flown from Nairobi to Kisumu. Sir Joseph Byrne is appointed governor and commander-in-chief.
1932	Treetops is built at Nyeri. Lord Moyne, financial commissioner, visits Kenya to enquire into the racial distribution of taxation and services. As a result, the secretary of state announces that there should be an income tax in all three East African territories. Airmail is first flown from Mombasa to Nairobi.
1933	The Kenya Land Commission is appointed under the chairmanship of Sir William Morris Carter to look into African land needs. Mr R. Gibb is sent to Kenya to investigate the railway finances. The Kakamega gold rush took place.
1934	The Kenya Land Commission report recommends that additions be made to native reserves and that squatters on European farms be offered alternative land in the reserves. The Report denies and nullifies virtually all Kikuyu land claims against European expropriation.
22 December 1936 - 06 April 1937: Wade, Sir Admiral de Vins (acting Governor) 06 April 1937 - 30 September 1939: Brooke-Popham, Air Chief Marshall, Sir Robert (Governor)
1937	The De La Warr Committee issues a report on higher education in East Africa. Air Chief Marshall Sir Robert Brooke-Popham is appointed governor and commander in chief. The Kenya Regiment is raised.
1938	Orders in Council are made instituting the Highlands Board and the Native Land Trust Board. The Kamba de-stocking protest: 3,000 Kamba organised by the Ukamba Members Association arrive in Nairobi demanding to see the Governor.
30 September 1939 - 09 January 1940: Harrigan, Sir Walter (acting Governor) 09 January 1940 - 25 October 1944: Moore, Sir Henry Monck-Mason (Governor)
1939	The University College of East Africa is founded at Makerere, Uganda. The first broadcast to African listeners is made from Kabete. The Kenya Teachers’ Training College is founded at Githunguri by Mbiyu Koinange.
1940	The East African Economic and Supply Council is set up. Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore is appointed governor and commander-in-chief The Kikuyu Central Association is proscribed as part of a general clamp-down on war-time dissent.
1941	Britain launches the Ethiopian campaign. East African forces capture Mogadishu, capital of Italian Somaliland. Addis Ababa falls to the Allies. End of the East Africa campaign. East African forces despatched to Burma. Lord Baden-Powell (1857-1941) is buried at Nyeri
1942	The fall of Singapore to the Japanese results in big increase in demand for agricultural produce from Kenya to support the war effort. ‘Increased Production of Crops Ordinance’ passed. Successfully boosts crop production in Kenya to help the war effort.
1943	Industry of Eastern Africa urges the desirability of political union the three East African territories.
25 October 1944 - 12 December 1944: Rennie, Gilbert M. (acting Governor) 12 December 1944 - 21 June 1952: Mitchell, Sir Philip (Governor)
1944	Oxford-educated Eliud W. Mathu is nominated as the first African member of the Legislative Council. The Kenya African Union (initially the Kenya African Study Union) is founded. Sir Philip Mitchell is appointed governor and commander-in-chief Kikuyu at Olenguruone resettlement scheme take oath of unity to defy government imposition of controls. Land crisis emerges in Central province with beginnings of government terracing campaign in the Kikuyu countryside.
1945	The British government’s statement of policy, Inter-territorial organisation in East Africa, recommends the creation of high commission comprising the three East African governors, with a central legislative assembly. The National Parks Ordinance came into force Restrictions begin to be imposed on cattle-holding by squatters on European-owned farms in Rift Valley, and first Kikuyu repatriations begin December Proposal for constitutional change in Kenya are rejected by African political leaders as doing too little to advance African representation.
1946	Jomo Kenyatta returned to Kenya from Britain, to become president of the Kenya African Union (KAU). First National park,The Royal Nairobi National Park is opened, followed by Tsavo in 1948. The African membership of the Legislative Council is increased to two First squatter resistance to repatriation, with strikes and arson attacks against white farms in September
1947	The northern boundary is defined by an agreement with Ethiopia. The publication of annual reports is resumed. The last annual Blue Book is issued. The East Africa (High Commission) Order in Council sets up a High Commission as proposed with powers to legislate on matters concerning the common services of the three East African territories. The first Pan African conference on pre-history is held in Nairobi. The British / Kenyan Miocene Expedition commences Further constitutional reform disappoints Africans, leading Eluid Mathu to campaign for the introduction of more rapid political change giving Africans greater political freedom Violent opposition to government cattle-dipping campaign in Nyeri ‘Women’s revolt’ against terracing in Murang’a Strike at Uplands Bacon Factory in Kiambu, leading to a riot and the shooting of African strikers.
1948	African membership of the Legislative Council is increased to four. Legislative Council has an unofficial majority. African members are nominated not elected. The East Africa High Commission is set up to administer certain services of common benefit to the three East African territories and to secure more efficient coordination of action. The Tanganyika and Kenya-Uganda railway systems are amalgamated to produce East African Railways and Harbours system. The population census shows a total population of 5,406,966 (including 29,666 Europeans and 90,528 Indians). The Tsavo National Park is proclaimed.
1949	Evictions of Kikuyu from Olenguruone
1950	Nairobi achieves city status and is granted a royal charter. Nairobi General Strike. Mau Mau secret society among the Kikuyu banned. Attempts to assassinate two moderate African leaders in Nairobi, Mbotela and Gikoyo, for which crimes the radical Muhimu leader and trade unionist Fred Kubai is arrested
1951	The African membership of the Legislative Council is increased to 8. The African Courts are regulated by the African Courts Ordinance. The East African Court of Appeal is reconstituted as a permanent court for the territories of Aden, Kenya, British Somaliland, Tanganyika, Uganda and the Seychelles KAU moderates call for a common roll and elections, but this is rejected by Governor Mitchell (February) Radicals seize control of KAU in Nairobi (June)
21 June 1952 - 28 September 1952: Potter, Henry S. (acting Governor) 29 September 1952 - 14 October 1959: Baring, Sir Evelyn (Governor)
1952	Sir Ralph Richardson opens the National Theatre, Nairobi. Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visit Kenya. Royal Visit to Kenya of Princess Elizabeth, who receives news of the death of her father, King George VI, whilst at Treetops in the Aberdares forest. (February) Kenya’s Legislative Council enlarged, with six nominated African members, and one African nominated to the Executive Council, but still no elections. The Mau Mau rebellion breaks out and a state of emergency is declared on 21 October. Martial Law declared. Paramount Chief Waruhui wa Kung’u is assassinated on his way home from Nairobi. (October) First British battalion arrives to deal with Mau Mau crisis,the Lancashire Fusiliers, to join six battalions of the King’s African Rifles based in Kenya (Kenya 3rd, 5th, 7th and 23rd; Uganda 4th; Tanganyika 6th) Operation Jock Scott – roundup of Mau Mau suspects. More than 80 African political activists arrested including Jomo Kenyatta, Paul Ngei, Achieng Oneko, Bildad Kaggia, Fred Kubai and Kungu Karumba (‘the Kapenguria Six’) who are tried for directing the Mau Mau revolt (October) - trial begins at Kapenguria in December. Large scale ‘repatriation’ of Kikuyu squatters from Rift Valley farms. (November) The two Kikuyu independent school’s organisations, K.I.S.A. and K.K.E.A. are declared illegal, and their assets are seized. 34 independent Kikuyu schools are closed by the government. (November) Tom Mbotela, a key witness for the prosecution in the Kenyatta trial, murdered in Nairobi. (November) First white settler murdered by the Mau Mau. Sir Evelyn Baring (later Lord Howick of Glendale) is appointed governor and commander-in-chief. Michael Blundell becomes leader of the European Elected Members.
1953	Jomo Kenyatta, Paul Ngei, Achieng Oneko, Bildad Kaggia, Fred Kubai and Kungu Karumba (the ‘Kapenguria Six’) given sentences of seven years imprisonment with hard labour for “managing” and “assisting in the managing” of Mau Mau and three years for belonging to the Mau Mau. (April). Mau Mau fighters raid the Naivasha police station and kill 97 loyalists at Lari. (March) The Chuka Massacre. B Company of the King’s African Rifles massacre in cold blood 20 arrested unarmed Africans (including 1 child) suspected of belonging to the Mau Mau. The British CO is later jailed for 7 years but on the basis of insufficient evidence of the full scale of the massacre. Family members of the victims are compensated.The massacre comes to symbolise official brutality during the Mau Mau insurrection. (June) Roger Ruck, his pregnant wife Esmee, a doctor who ran a dispensary for Africans, and their 6-year-old son are brutally murdered at their home in the Rift Valley by 30 Mau Mau militants. The Ruck’s African servant is also murdered. The murders become the defining symbol of Mau Mau brutality towards Kenya’s European settlers. (January) Settlers march on Government House protesting against the security situation. They are persuaded to disperse by Micael Blundell and Humphrey Slade. (January). Two further British battalions arrive, Devons and Buffs, bringing total to nine military battalions in all. (April) The East Africa Royal Commission is set up. The possibility of forming a federation of the three East African territories is mentioned by the secretary of state, Oliver Lyttelton. The Kenya African Union is proscribed. (June). The estimated population is now at 5,807,000.
1954	Under R.J. Swynerton’s reforms, African farmers are at last allowed to grow coffee. Unofficials are brought into the government for the first time. The Lyttleton Constitution is published. General ‘China’ aka Warûhiû Itote, leader of 4,000 Mau Mau fighters in Mount Kenya, surrenders to authorities after getting wounded in a gunfight with government troops.
1955	Mau Mau surrender offer made, and amnesty declared, saving security forces from prosecution The Mau Mau rebellion is finally crushed. Barbara Castle (Labour Party) visits Kenya and publicises accusations about torture of Mau Mau suspects. (November) The Dow Report on East African Development is published. Michael Blundell is appointed minister of agriculture. Government lifts ban on local African political organisations.
1956	The inter-racial Royal Technical College is opened in Nairobi. Eileen Fletcher’s accusations of torture and ill-treatment of Mau Mau detainees is published in London (Fletcher a British Quaker who had worked at Kamiti, a Nairobi prison). Mau Mau militant Dedan Kimathi captured. (October)
1957	The Nairobi City Hall is completed. Dedan Kimathi hanged. (March) The first direct elections for African constituencies are held for the eight African seats in the Legislative Council. A mission sent by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association emphasizes the need of East African territories for further external aid. The Dow Report (published 1955) is debated in the House of Commons. Alan Lennox-Boyd, secretary of state for the colonies, pays a long visit to Kenya.
1958	The Embakasi Airport is opened. A council of state is created. The Kenya Dairy Board is set up.
14 October 1959 - 23 October 1959: Coutts, Walter Fleming (acting Governor) 23 October 1959 - 17 November 1962: Rennison, Sir Patrick Muir (Governor)
1959	Michael Blundell becomes leader of the New Kenya Party. The Nuffield Foundation gives £10,000 toward a game management project in the Waliangulu Range. The estimated population is now over 6.45 million. The Mau Mau emergency is officially declared over, and most of the detainees released. The East African Wildlife Society is founded. Mrs Mary Leakey finds the skull of Zinjanthropus boisei. The Kenya government removes all racial and tribal restrictions on the purchase of land. Tom Mboya, Oginga Odinga and Dr Liano form the Kenya Independence Party. Sir Patrick Rennison is appointed governor and commander-in-chief. Australopithecus boisei (‘Nutcracker Man’) is discovered at Olduvai Gorge, Tanganyika, by Mary Leakey. Eleven “hardcore” Mau Mau detainees perish at the Hola detention camp. (March) Fairn report published, admitting British use of excessive force in the Mau Mau emergency detention camps. (September)
1960	Jomo Kenyatta is elected president in absentia of the Kenya African National Union (KANU). The Holy Family Cathedral, Nairobi is opened. Africans achieve majority membership of the Legislative Council and obtain four out of ten unofficial portfolios in the Council of Ministers. Harold Macmillan’s ‘Wind of Change’ speech in Cape Town (February) - becomes a symbolic moment in the process of British decolonisation. The Lancaster House Conference is held; re-affirms that the ultimate objective for Kenya is independence. Nigeria and Somalia achieve independence from Britain. Congo achieves independence from Belgium, followed by violence. Kenya African Democratic Union [KADU] formed, with alliance of Kalenjin, Maasai and liberal European and other minority political groupings
1961	Jomo Kenyatta is freed and accepts the presidency of the Kenya African National Union (KANU). The East African Common Services Organisation (EACSO) is created, superseding the East African High Commission. Elections give KANU nineteen seats against the Kenya Africa Democratic Union’s (KADU) eleven on the Legislative Council. The reservation of the Highlands for the Europeans is ended. Tanganyika gains independence from Britain.
1960-61	Implementation of the ‘Million Acre Settlement Scheme’: Government buys one million acres of the ‘White Highlands’ and redistributes the land as smallholdings to African farmers.
1962	The census shows the population to be well over 8 million. A coalition government of KANU and KADU is formed. Television services begin. A common court of appeal for eastern Africa is set up. The Second Lancaster House constitutional conference takes place in London. (April) French agree to Algerian independence at Evian Peace talks. Uganda becomes independent from Britain. General ‘China’ (Warûhiû Itote) is released from prison (November)
17 November 1962 - 04 January 1963:Griffith-Jones, Erin (acting Governor) 04 January 1963 - 12 December 1963: MacDonald, Malcolm John (Governor)
1963	Elections are held: sweeping victory gives KANU power. Jomo Kenyatta is Prime Minister. The Third Lancaster House constitutional conference takes place in London - amends the independence constitution. (April) The new constitution gives Kenya her independence on 12 December. Kenya becomes a republic on 12 December, with Jomo Kenyatta (Kikuyu) as the country’s first President, and Jamarogi Oginga Odinga (Luo) as its first Vice-President. Zanzibar is granted independence on 10 December. The ten-mile coastal strip is ceded to Kenya by the Sultan of Zanzibar on 8 October, with effect from Kenya’s independence day. Delamere’s statue in Nairobi is pulled down and replaced with one of Jomo Kenyatta (November). Governor-general Malcolm MacDonald declares a state of emergency in the North-East Province after an escalation of attacks by Somali shifta raiders.
1964	The political party KADU is voluntarily dissolved. Zanzibar and Tanganyika are linked in the United Republic of Tanzania. Kenya’s air force is formed. The Kampala agreement is signed. Kenya becomes a de facto one-party state of the Kenya Africa National Union (KANU).
1965	The members of the former KADU are gradually absorbed into KANU. The regions of Kenya are renamed provinces. Free medical services for all children and adult out-patients are inaugurated.
1966	The Kenya Peoples Union (KPU) is founded by Jamarogi Oginga Odinga. The Senate is amalgamated with the House of Representatives to form a unicameral National Assembly of 170 members. The Central Bank of Kenya is founded. The Emperor of Ethiopia makes a state visit to Nairobi.
1967	The East African Community (EAC) is established, superseding the East African Common Services Organisation (EASCO). The Treaty of East African Cooperation, signed by the presidents of the three East African countries, is published. Daniel arap Moi is appointed vice-president of Kenya.
1968	The life of the new assembly is prolonged to June 1970. The L.S.B. Leakey Foundation for Research Related to Man’s Origin is established.
1969	The census shows a population of about 11 million. The Kenya People’s Union (KPU) is proscribed. Tom Mboya, Minister of Economic Planning and leader of the Luo people, is assassinated in a Nairobi street by a Kikuyu gunman (July).
1970	The University of East Africa is disbanded and the University of Nairobi opened. The general elections, originally scheduled for 1968, are held.
1971	Amin seizes power in Uganda.
1974	General elections are held. Swahili is declared to be the official language of the country.
1975	Nairobi’s population is estimated to be about 700,000. The East African Railways ceases to operate between Kenya and Tanzania. The politician M. Kariuki is murdered. Kenya currency is devalued.
1976	The estimated population is put at 13.8 million. The minister of local government dissolves the Mombasa Municipal Council and replaces it with a seven-member mission.
1977	A revised estimate of Kenya’s population is put at 14.34 million. The independent Kenya Railways Corporation is formed, following the break up of the East African Railways administration. The East Africa Community (EAC) collapses. The border between Kenya and Tanzania is closed. The International Louis Leakey Memorial Institute for African Prehistory at Nairobi is opened. All big game hunting is banned.
1978	Jomo Kenyatta dies on 22 August and is succeeded by Daniel arap Moi. Ngugi wa Thiong'o is released from prison. Work begins on the Upper Tana reservoir scheme.
1979	General Elections are held. The latest Five Year Plan (1979-1983) for Kenya is launched. Philip Leakey is appointed Minister for the Environment.
1980	Compulsory one-year national service is announced for commencement in 1982. The Norfolk Hotel, Nairobi, is destroyed by fire. Joy Adamson, the naturalist, is murdered.
1981	Nairobi University is closed following clashes between students and riot police. (May) The Kenya shilling is devalued by 15 per cent, bringing it down to approximately 10 US cents. A Turkana tribesman is found guilty of the murder of author and artist, Joy Adamson, and is sentenced to indeterminate confinement.
1982	Kenya officially becomes on one-party state, political opposition to the ruling KANU being prohibited by a constitutional amendment. (June) Attempted coup against the government by Air Force personnel fails. In the violence which follows, an estimated 159 die. As a consequence, President Daniel arap Moi disbands the entire 2,100 member Kenya Air Force. (August) A number of students are charged with sedition in complicity with the leaders of the attempted coup and a number of Air Force personnel are sentenced to death or long term prison terms. Two publications from Britain New African and Africa Now are banned from Kenya for their coverage of the coup. An issue of Time, the US news magazine, is not allowed to circulate in the country until 2 pages covering the coup are removed. The Kenya Air Force is reconstituted under an Army general.
1983	On 12 October President Moi is inaugurated for a second 5-year term, after having run for re-election unopposed.
1985	The Times of London reports that 12 ‘leaders’ of the 1982 coup have been executed. (One ‘leader’ is a private in the Air Force). Police broke up a student meeting at the University of Nairobi and once again the main campus is closed indefinitely.
1986	Beryl Markham, author of West with the Night, pioneer aviator and long-time resident of Kenya dies on 2 August.
1987	Many reports are circulated abroad of humans rights violations in Kenya. The government insists that detainees are members of the proscribed political group, Mwakenya, which had circulated Marxist literature and called for the overthrow of President Moi. Kenya declared a one-party state with the Kenya African National Union the one party. Secret ballot replaced by a system of open queuing behind a chosen candidate. The Washington Post cites Kenyan sources and court records in reporting sixty-six Kenyans had been sentenced to prison for sedition since 1986. A visiting member of the US House of Representatives reports that he is ‘startled’ by the level of fear, among Kenyans. Amnesty International charges that there had been hundreds of cases in the previous sixteen months of people being tortured and forced to make false confessions. (July)
1988	Preliminary elections in February include a new non-secret voting system in which the voters line up behind the candidate of their choice: while only the Kenya African National Union party could field candidates, a number of candidates could contest a single seat. At the final ballot, which results in eliminating all but one candidate, a secret ballot is used. This early primary results in only 15 per cent of the voters in Nairobi voting. Violence at the polls ensues and there are rumours of electoral malpractice. Camel-raiding Somali in north-eastern Kenya kill 15 Boran tribesman and stole 2,000 goats.
1989	Somali soldiers pursuing refugees cross into Kenya where they kill four policemen. George Adamson is shot and killed in his camp in north-eastern Kenya by Somali bandits. A spate of killings of tourists by poachers and bandits alarm the government which depends on tourism to earn foreign exchange. There are five attacks on tourists in the year. Ivory poaching crisis: Dr Richard Leakey appointed Director of Wildlife Services to combat it.
1990	Foreign Minister Robert Ouko, a Luo, is found dead of a gunshot wound. Riots follow his death along with calls for President Moi’s resignation. Serious riots sparked by political repression lead to the death of at least 20 people. (July)
1992	Kenya holds its first multi-party elections

Ends