The African Savers and the Post Office Savings Bank in Colonial Kenya (1910-1954)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Post Office Savings Bank operated in colonial Kenya from 1910 as a charitable institution with the objective to facilitate saving and cultivate a thrift mentality among Africans. However, as this research demonstrates, the savings bank did not act in accordance with those proclaimed values. The efforts of colonial authorities to popularise the institution among local communities were a response to historical circumstances, such as the Second World War, the demobilisation of African soldiers, and the Mau Mau uprising (1952-1960), that made African money valuable to the colonisers: Analysing the History of the Post Office Savings Bank in Kenya since its arrival until the Mau Mau uprising, this article sheds light on the complex and untold history of the institution, its motivations for expanding its services and the problems faced to win the trust of potential African savers. Moreover, the article demonstrates that in spite of the effort of the POSB to increase its number of African savers, the social and economic conditions of the African population in colonial Kenya made their traditional savings and investment practices more valuable when compared with the benefits offered by the postal savings bank.