THE KENYA LAND QUESTION

Understanding Land Ownership Through Kenya’s Past and Present

Simot Falls

Lake Baringo

Turkwel River

Mt. Kenya

Karuru Falls

Yatta Plateau

TOPOGRAPHY

Mountains

Landforms

Kenya, Aberdare Ranges, Longonot, Suswa, Kilimanjaro

Rift Valley, Sotik Depression, Dragon’s Teeth

PART ONE: ALIENATION

AFRICAN TRIBAL DISTRIBUTION BY 1900

• Kenya was mainly occupied by Bantu, Nilotic and Cushite speakers
• Tribes settled according to their way of life. E.g. Maasai pastoralists lived in the grassy Rift Valley steppes.
• Occasionally, the tribes also adapted to the environments they lived. For example, the Kamba who lived in the dry Eastern plains adapted trade to substitute agriculture.
• Although wars were frequent, acquisition of land by conquest was rare.

FACTORS THAT AFFECTED LAND ALIENATION

• Rinderpest Outbreak (1890)-pastoralist communities lost a big percentage of their herds weakening their positions and making them more susceptible to European negotiations.
• Smallpox epidemic (1897)- the disease spread rapidly amongst the Maasai, Kamba and Kikuyu. Entire villages were annihilated by the disease and mass migrations left many places seeming uninhabited. This also spread the disease to new areas.
• The Great Famine (1998)- made worse by the smallpox epidemic, the failure of rains for two consecutive years resulted in a widespread famine that brought mighty tribes to their knees.
• Tribal marginalization-each tribe occupied its own area and kept to itself. Even tribes who would sometimes trade or enjoy extended spells of peace were now at each other’s necks in competition for resources. This allowed the Europeans to use them against each other. E.g. The Maasai and Kikuyu
• Construction of the Lunatic Express- The completion of the Kenya-Uganda railway line in 1905 made the interior of East Africa accessible. The dream of African occupation could finally be achieved.

MEANS USED BY EUROPEANS TO CONSOLIDATE LAND.

• Conquest- Tribes that directly opposed the Europeans were annihilated using the European superior weaponry. Some tribes like the Nandi and Kisii held their own but were eventually defeated
• Signing of Treaties- vulnerable tribes like the Maasai made allies of the British and gradually signed their land away acre by acre. The Maasai Treaties of 1904 and 1911 left them dispossessed of their land leaving the Southern Rift Valley open to settler farming.
• Occupation of ‘vacant’ land- large portions of land that were left empty after the successive plagues of the 1890s were settled by Europeans. Most of the land in the ‘White Highlands’ of Kiambu were acquired in this way.
• Legislation- with the establishment of the Protectorate and the Crown Land Ordinance of 1902, Africans inadvertently forfeited all land claims becoming ‘tenants-at-will’ under the authority of the Crown. They would soon be forced to provide labor for meagre wages in the same land they once owned.

POPULATING THE COLONY

Russel Bowker- the individual sent to South Africa to invite Europeans to settle in Kenya

An advertisement encouraging potential settlers to buy land in Nyali, Mombasa

Affordable hotels like Brackenhurst offered potential settlers a lovely stay as they considered making the colony their new home

EFFECTS OF LAND ALIENATION

• Forced Migrations- millions of Africans were moved from their ancestral lands to pave way for the occupation and settlement of Europeans. Tribes who owned rich pasture land or fertile agricultural portions had to cede them to Europeans.
• Disruption of traditional ways of life- with the introduction of colonial rule, Africans could no longer resume their normal activities especially because they had been moved from their homes. The Tugen clans living in the Katimok Forest were kicked out forever as it became a Provincial Forest Reserve.
• End of African Land Tenure Systems- traditional inheritance and land ownership systems were deemed outdated and replaced with British capitalist systems.
• New migratory patterns and settlement- the establishment of colonial rule opened up new regions for settlement that were closed off from members of certain tribes. For instance, the Kikuyu tribe expanded into the Rift Valley. Maasai settlements like Naivasha and Nakuru were now overrun with members of the agricultural tribe.
• Beginning of resource degradation- natural resources like rivers and forests that had been held sacred for centuries were now recklessly exploited by the white man. Large swathes of forests were cleared for settlement, agriculture and timber drying up and contaminating the rivers.
• Creation of native reserves- Africans were evacuated from their land but kept close by in crowded reserves so they could provide forced labor on European farms. Life in the reserves was hellish with creating a cutthroat competition for resources. E.g. Banana.

​

​

PART TWO: AGITATION

EARLY PROTESTS

Having founded one of the first political parties, the Young Kikuyu Association in 1921, Harry Thuku was among the first to speak up against land alienation, forced labor and the kipande system. This landed him in Kingsway Police Station in the following year. Protests immediately began following his arrest with over 8000 gathering outside the police station on the 3^rd day. As the crowd’s patience waned, several protesters led by Muthoni Nyanjiru led a sully onto the police station. More than 30 Kikuyus perished when the police opened fire. Harry Thuku was immediately exiled to Kismayu.

CLOSER UNION

From 1930, the colonial secretary Leo Amery in conjunction with newly appointed Governor Edward Griggs to implement the CLOSER UNION PLAN. This nefarious plan was meant to unite the Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika colonies into one.

Although the plan sounded good enough on paper, the House of Commons formed a Joint Committee to discuss its feasibility.

Prudently, they invited several Africans from the region to hear their views on the plan and how it would affect them. Senior Chief Koinange of the Kikuyu was one of the delegates chosen for this mission. In his impassioned speech in the UK Parliament, he addressed land alienation. MPs were moved to not only scrap the Closer Union Plan but to set up a commission to address African land grievances.

THE MORRIS CARTER LAND COMMISSION

Membership

Morris Carter- was an eminent judge and administrator who had chaired the Southern Rhodesia Land Commission in 1925 which found that the indigenous inhabitants had no inalienable right to land and called racial segregation not only ‘inescapable’ but ‘inherently desirable’

 Captain Frank O’ Brien Wilson was a well-known settler, associated with Lord Delamere, who farmed a disputed land block in Machakos District

A CHIEF’S PLEA

• Senior Chief Koinange and other Kikuyus gathered their evidence in readiness to testify before the commission.
• A young Kenyatta stated that the Southern Kikuyu (Agikuyu a Kiambu) had bought land south of the Chania River from the forest dwelling Dorobo people before European contact..
• Senior Chief Koinange pleaded for the return of the 2500 acres alienated from the Njunu clan and to prove his claim he had some very compelling evidence.

He explained how his ancestor Njunu wa Maigua bought the land from a Dorobo for 900 goats with an extra 2000 goats being paid by his son Gikonyo to Dorobo inheritors whose names he mentioned. The deal was sealed with the marrying off of Gikonyo’s daughter. Lastly, he asked for permission to have the remains of his ancestors exhumed from the land he was claiming and sure enough, they were there.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MORRIS CARTER LAND COMMISSION

Rather than address the land grievances brought up by the Africans, the land commission justified and officially gazetted the alienation of 80,000 acres of prime Highland. They drew these conclusions after a series of grievous errors:

• They judged the Kikuyu- Dorobo land transactions null and void not only because the evidence was presented by word of mouth but some Dorobo sources claimed ‘strong arming’ was used. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As we have already seen, Kikuyus did not believe in acquisition of land by conquest or coercion.
• With the collusion of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Phillipe Luster, the governor recommended consultation of the Devonshire White Paper of 1923. Originally, this paper was meant to stratify the racial hierarchy in the country. It supposed that Europeans were to have a ‘privileged position’ in the Highlands. The commission quoted a part of the paper that stated ‘ no person other than a European shall be entitled to acquire … agricultural land in such areas or to occupy land therein’ . They used this statement to nullify African claims on the land in the highlands and any other portions they wanted in the colony.

SQUATTER FARMING IN THE RIFT VALLEY

• With the annexing of the Rift Valley, thousands of Kikuyus drifted down the escarpments as squatters to farm the fertile virgin land. They were essentially, tenants of the Europeans who lived and farmed on allocated portions in exchange for providing labor for the white man. Kalenjin, Luhya and Borana tenants were also present.
• In the early years of squatter cultivation(1900-1930) before settler farming fully took off, squatters enjoyed a period of economic prosperity. They always harvested surplus and enjoyed competitive prices especially during the First World War. Towns like Subukia and Solai grew as market towns.
• Unfortunately, as settler cultivation improved spurred on by automation, Europeans suddenly needed to get rid of the Africans on their land as fast as possible. Not only did they need the acreage Africans used to grow crops and feed their animals, tractors and processing plants reduced the need for human labor.
• A series of Resident Native Labour Ordinances(RNLO) were introduced from 1930 to curb the freedoms enjoyed by the squatters. The ordinances limited the number of squatters, homesteads, livestock and dependents allowed on a European farm at a time.
• The draconian RNLO of 1937, introduced a destocking policy known to Africans as Kifagio to imply the sweeping away of their herds. African culture was again attacked as Europeans took away their livelihoods leaving the squatters exposed and impoverished.

Market operations in the Rift Valley towns In the 1920s.

Population in Nakuru and Naivasha in 1927 stratified by race

The number of livestock Africans were allowed to keep in each district after the 1937 Resident Native Laborer Ordinance.

THE OLENGURUONE CRISIS

The colonial government bought land in Olenguruone to settle the settlers that had become redundant as a result of the 1937 RNLO. The settlement scheme would devolve into crisis as the government attempted to micromanage every single aspect.

​

FARMING REGULATIONS

• The Olenguruone land was still given on a ‘tenant-at-will’ basis. Squatters had assumed that the land would be theirs to own.
• Of the 8 acres given to each settler only 2 and a half could be cultivated at a time for a period of 4 years after which it would have to remain fallow.
• The rest of the land was to be used for pasture.
• New crops like wheat and vegetables were forcefully introduced while maize was banned.
• The steep, hilly topography of Olenguruone demanded terracing and cross-contour cultivation but the land was still unsuitable for any meaningful yield.
• A new inheritance system was introduced plus the land could not be mortgaged or sold.
• The squatters were settled in 1941 but the ruled did not take effect until 1942 further confusing them.

From the onset, the squatters were defiant.

• They refused to sign the papers that authorized their stay there as it meant compliance to the agricultural regulations.
• Communal projects like survey work, gabion building, terracing, bamboo cutting and roadworks were also ignored by the residents causing the government to enlist labor from as far as Kisii.

• A new oath was administered to the settlers uniting them in solidarity.
• Not even the threat of eviction would shake their resolve.
• Olenguruone became the rallying cry for land grievances in the country.
• When the evictions finally began, the evictees took with them the politics of protest as well as the oath of unity.
• Scholars recognize this as the turning point that gave birth to the Maumau Revolution in the late 1940s.

Evictions

THE LARI MASSACRE

• This is the worst single blood-letting episode in the Maumau war.
• Lari was an overpopulated block right on the Kikuyu escarpment. It had been redistributed among 10 Kikuyu clans who’d been evacuated from Tigoni.
• Chief Luka Wakahangara who had been appointed as the Kikuyu representative during the eviction negotiations had handled the relocation with impunity settling his friends and relatives in the best parts.

• Lari had slowly become a tinderbox ready to explode as wealthy landowners and radicalized peasants lived side by side.
• Many Olenguruone evictees also settled in Lari bringing with them the politics of protest and the Maumau oath.
• As Maumau activities heated up in the rest of the Central region, the conflicting parties in Lari geared up for the inevitable showdown.

• In the dead of night on 12^th March 1953, as the homeguards of Lari began their evening vigil, Maumau insurgents lured them away by planting a body in the neighboring location.
• The homeguards went to investigate leaving Lari undefended. Insurgents descended on the village specifically targeting the loyalists’ huts.
• The huts were set on fire with the doors blocked. Those who escaped the huts were savagely hacked down.
• Luka Wakahangara’s homestead was surrounded as the insurgents exacted their bloody revenge for his greed and impunity.

• When the homeguards realized they had bit the bait they rushed back home.
• They went into an instant blood rage killing any Lari residents who they suspected of Maumau sympathies.
• The death toll of the two massacres totaled to around 300.

The Lari massacre and counter-massacre reveals Kikuyu attitude towards land and the ruthlessness with which they were ready to defend it

PART 3: REPOSSESSION

THE SWYNNERTON FORMULA (1950S)

This plan created a formula for the privatization of land through the displacement of indigenous property systems in exchange with European land tenure systems.

It was a direct response to the Maumau revolution.

The creation of a rural wealthy elite that would also provide liberal political leadership.

​

The plan did not achieve its objectives

• The process was marred by corruption from the initial stage of adjudication
• Smallholder farmers who did get title deeds were reluctant to use them to secure credit
• Customary ownership systems persisted long after even in areas where titles had already been issued.
• Weakened women’s rights
• Private property rights encouraged accumulation and selfishness

KENYATTA’S GREAT BETRAYAL

The Swynnerton plan only succeeded in making a wealthy elite. Upon his release from prison right as the nation was at the cusp of independence, the president to be, Jomo Kenyatta rescinded on his word. Rather than return the acres back to their rightful owners, Kenyatta and cream of the African society, most of whom were second generation loyalists acquired and kept the best land for themselves.

In Ruring’u stadium, Nyeri, Kenyatta disarmed and dismissed the Maumau insurgents. As they patiently waited for the announcement that they would receive land and other forms of compensation for their service, they were instead hit with ‘hakuna kitu cha bure’.

WILLING BUYER,

WILLING SELLER

KANU which was made of the majority Kikuyu and Luo tribes competed with KADU which was made of smaller tribes.

KADU was willing to make compromises with the colonial government to ensure Kikuyus do not make a claim on Rift Valley land.

Using shrewd persuasion however, Kenyatta negotiated a coalition government by bringing the leader of KADU, Daniel Arap Moi, to KANU

​

KANU vs.

KADU

At a meeting with anxious settler farmers in Nakuru, Kenyatta reassured them that they would not be dispossessed of their lands.

Instead, he introduced the ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ principle.

It suggests that land should only be acquired from private owners if they voluntarily agree to sell it at a mutually agreed price.

FALLOUT

Moderate and Radical KANU politicians were divided on this matter.

While the likes of Tom Mboya followed suit, Radicals like Bildad Kaggia, Oginga Odinga and J M Kariuki opposed it.

Bildad Kaggia passionately argued that Kenyans should not be forced to buy land that was inherently theirs in the first place.

The radicals were kicked out of the party in 1966 .

MILLION-ACRE SCHEME

In a bid to satisfy the aching need for land among disposed Kenyans and the political objectives of the nationalist leadership, the government embarked on the allocation of big plots of land.

• As per the usual, the process was corrupt from the get-go with many pocketing parcels for themselves.
• It also favored Kikuyus, many of whom got choice parcels in the Rift Valley.
• Even the funds meant to cater for the re-distribution were looted.
• In the end, of the 35,000 families that were targeted in the scheme, only 3,800 families were catered to.
• A large portion of Kenyans still remained landless.

MODERN CONSEQUENCES

POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE

It is no secret that the post election violence was partly fueled by long-standing anger over land distribution. Clashes in the Rift Valley especially between the Kalenjin and Kikuyu was certainly fueled by this. As Kalenjin leaders like William Ruto incited tribal hatred, Kikuyus were forced to move out of the region. The favourism that had been witnessed during the distribution of land after independence was a score that was eventually settled in blood.

Hundreds of Kenyans were killed as thousands were forced to move from the places they were born to hastily put up IDP camps.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

In the absence of customary land-ownership systems and traditional religion, the environment has fallen to ruin. Unlike the traditional ownership that fostered conservation and maintenance of natural resources, the modern system is more individual-oriented and pays little attention to conservation.

Chemicals and solid wastes are deposited in rivers polluting them as vast swathes of forests are cleared for individual gain.

HUMAN-WILDLIFE�CONFLICT

The appetite for land that was triggered by the shift in land ownership systems often brings humans in conflict with wildlife. Poaching, encroaching, hunting and habitat destruction drives wildlife to desperate points.

Roads and settlements have been built through or near wildlife conservancies disrupting ancient migratory patterns.

LANDLESSNESS

Finally, the unfair distribution of land has resulted in widespread landlessness among the poor in Kenya. This has mushroomed into a serious housing problem as thousands of Kenyans live in shanties and slums near major cities.

This is interesting to note considering some Kenyans and foreign nationals' own way more land than they need some of which was acquired fraudulently.

THE END

Thankyou for sticking around till the end of the lecture. Here is your complementary Title Deed for 11 acres in Laikipia.