Land and Politics in Kenya: an Analysis of African Politics in a Plural Society

Abstract

INCE THE OUTBREAK of Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in October, 1952, economic, social, and political complex in this colony has shown signs of gradual but definite change. With Mau Mau acting, perhaps, as a stimulus to change, British colonial government has introduced several significant and far-reaching social, economic, and political policies. One such policy is so-called Villagization scheme.' This scheme seeks to provide Africans, and particularly Kikuyu, with a settled and secure village life, around which it is hoped will emerge a communal spirit for social, economic, and civic advancement. Such community activities as building of schools, churches, and hospitals, building of community water supplies, and establishment of community, as well as individual, agricultural undertakings have been concern of villages thus far created. In April, 1956, it was reported that some 750,000 Kikuyu (or nearly half of Kikuyu population) were now village-dwellers, as a result of new Villagization scheme. Another policy introduced since rise of Mau Mau is so-called Swynnerton plan of 1954 (named after Deputy Director of Agriculture in Kenya). This plan provides for expenditure of ?7,000,000 on development of African agriculture for period 1954-59. After consultation with Her Majesty's Government, a grant of ?5,000,000 was issued for execution of plan. In general, Swynnerton plan has as it objective creation of some 600,000 efficient African farms, and the raising of unit productivity from a sales-level of between ?5 and ?20 to a level of more than ?100 a year, after providing for needs of family. In 1955, there were approximately 25,000 licensed African coffee-growers in Kenya, and there are currently about 58 coffee co-operatives. It is hoped by government that by 1958 value of African coffee crop will range from ?1,500,000 to ?4,500,000. Perhaps an even more striking innovation in complex order-ofthings in Kenya has been political policies introduced by colonial government. In 1945 there were only two African members in Kenya