The Maasai Land Case of 1912: A Reappraisal

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Periodical article

Title:	The Maasai Land Case of 1912: A Reappraisal
Author:	Kabourou, Aman W.
Year:	1988
Periodical:	Transafrican Journal of History
Volume:	17
Pages:	1-20
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Kenya Great Britain
Subjects:	Maasai colonialism communal lands History and Exploration Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Law, Human Rights and Violence
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/24328688
Abstract:	In 1904, the Maasai had been allotted two reservations on both sides of the Uganda railway in Kenya. In 1911, a new agreement deprived them of one of those reservations. Some Maasai contested the deprivation and brought a suit against three colonial officials including the Attorney General, as well as twenty Maasai men who had collaborated with the government. Justice Hamilton of the Mombasa Municipal Court dismissed the case as being outside the court's jurisdiction. This decision was backed later on by the Justices of the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa. This paper examines the evidence as presented by both sides in the case with an eye towards uncovering the cause(s), methods, as well as the functions of colonial usurpations. Bibliogr., notes, ref.