Mau Mau from Within: An Analysis of Kenya's Peasant Revolt

Donald L. Barnett, an American anthropologist, interviewed at length Karari Njama, a Kikuyu schoolteacher, who participated in the Mau Mau insurrection in Kenya (1952-1956). He brings out the magical and religious dimensions of this armed movement, its organization, motivations, and weaknesses. In early 1954, among the issues being discussed by the fighters in the forests was that of electing a Kenya central council or Parliament that would co-ordinate the leadership of the struggle, which could no longer be done from Nairobi. Karari Njama's words show us that our expectations in 1954 were the same as they are in 2012. They confirm that our struggles at various times for a fair and democratic Kenya have shared the same ideals. It is proof that it is not our ideals and political traditions that have changed, but the corrupt leadership of the past fifty years that has deviated from the constant ideals of all Kenyans.