Making a Nation in Kenya

Abstract

M ANY YEARS AGO the leaders of political thought in Kenya, indeed almost the only producers of any constructive political thought at all, were the European settlers led by Lord Delamere. Their political objectives were simple and in terms of those days realistic. Nothing less than the creation of a self-governing white Dominion within the Commonwealth. Indeed I remember early in 1955 being bitterly attacked by an older colleague of mine in the Legislative Council for the concept of multi-racialism for which I was fighting on the grounds that I had destroyed everything for which he had worked throughout his life. I asked him what were his ambitions and he answered simply A White Dominion of East Africa . Looking at the Continent of Africa today, observing the emergency of States such as Ghana and Nigeria and measuring the powerful waves of human emotion piling up against the embankments of Colonialism, how unrealistic such a remark seems. Yet such an intent gave to the country of Kenya a continuing and long term policy which achieved stability of purpose and a sense of service which overcame the dictates of race. The early settlers, strongly imbued with the political philosophy of Conservatism, believed in the happiness of the people and consistently presented policies which in their view were in the best interest of all and not solely of a minority section. Recently we have been adrift, mainly because that clear and simple image of the country which it was sought to build has been lost, blurred by the emotions of colour and race sweeping the world since the war and the strident and contending voices of rival racialisms. I have felt both in the United Kingdom and our own country that there is no clear cut and signal purpose which defines the road upon which we should proceed. Too often decisions are taken in every field, social and political, which are merely the result of tensions on a pull Devil, pull Baker principle between the various groups in the Colony, and which have no relation to the future we should attempt to build. In essence, nothing has changed and we should shape our policies towards the creation of a self-governing country within the Commonwealth in which all the races can take part, and in which the majority of our citizens will be Africans. There are still people who conceive of the emergence of new countries within the Commonwealth from the concept of the old Empire as disastrous in its weakening of the Imperial idea, but it is nothing of the sort.