The Kamba and Mau Mau: ethnicity, development, and chiefship, 1952-1960

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Periodical article

Title:	The Kamba and Mau Mau: ethnicity, development, and chiefship, 1952-1960
Author:	Osborne, Myles
Year:	2010
Periodical:	International Journal of African Historical Studies (ISSN 0361-7882)
Volume:	43
Issue:	1
Pages:	63-87
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Kenya
Subjects:	Mau Mau Kamba political conflicts colonial history Kikuyu
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/25741397
Abstract:	In mid-1954, the conflict between the largely Kikuyu Mau Mau and the forces of the British colonial government reached its peak. While Kenya teetered at the brink of total upheaval, the Kamba, close cousins of the Kikuyu, were in a position to play a pivotal role in the struggle. The author first provides an outline of Kamba participation in Mau Mau, using memoirs written by Mau Mau fighters, the author's interviews, British colonial documents, and other assorted source material. He argues that Kamba participation was far greater than scholars have assumed. Second, he details the reasons why the Kamba did not join Mau Mau en masse. Three major, linked factors shaped that decision, viz. British manipulations of Kamba ethnicity; the effect of community development and welfare projects, shown here as important facets of imperial control; and, most crucially, the initiative and role of Kamba chiefs in the conflict. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]