Table Of ContentI
Historical Dictionary
of Kenya
Second Edition
Robert M. Maxon
Thomas R Ofcansky
African Historical Dictionaries, No. 77
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham, Md., & London
2000
SCARECROW PRESS, INC.
Published in the United States of America
by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
4720 Boston Way
Lanham, Maryland 20706
4 Pleydell Gardens, Folkestone
Kent CT20 2DN, England
Copyright ©2000 by Robert M. Maxon and Thomas P. Ofcansky
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maxon, Robert M.
Historical dictionary of Kenya / Robert M. Maxon and Thomas P.
Ofcansky.
p. cm. — (African historical dictionaries; no. 77)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8108-3616-5 (alk. paper)
1. Kenya—History—Dictionaries. I. Ofcansky, Thomas P., 1947—
II. Title. III. Series.
DT433.215 .M39 2000 98-50070
967.62'.003—dc21 CIP
©™The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANS1/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Contents
Editor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff)
ix
Abbreviations and Acronyms
xi
Chronology
xv
Map
xxvi
Introduction
The Dictionary
13
Appendix A: British Commissioners and Governors
265
Appendix B: Prime Minister and Presidents
267
Appendix C: Economic Data
269
Bibliography
271
About the Authors
449
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J
Editor's Foreword
When Kenya became independent in 1963, it was one of Africa’s most
promising new states. The country was endowed with a vast territory, some
of it rich farmland, and sparsely enough populated not to make it overly
crowded. There were few serious conflicts between its ethnic groups, and
none that could dominate all the others, and even much of the remaining
European and Asian populations cooperated with the new government. The
colonial power had left behind a reasonable transportation and communi
cations infrastructure, and there were a fair number of schools and many
educated Kenyans. The economic potential was good, and tourism a sure
foreign currency earner. Yet, looking back, we see that little of the prom
ise has been realized. The economy is doing poorly, and urban blight and
pollution affect many parts of the country. Shortly after independence, the
nascent democracy was replaced by a one-party state. There is no cause to
exaggerate, however. Kenya has done better than most other African states,
as witnessed by recent efforts to establish a genuine democratic form of
government. The pity is that it could have done much better still.
The Historical Dictionary of Kenya contains entries on both the past and
present, the older precolonial period, the colonial era, and the several de
cades since independence. It covers many aspects of the Kenyan experi
ence: historical, political, economic, social, cultural, and others. Of particu
lar interest are the entries on people, from those who founded the colony,
to those who turned it into an independent state and ruled it, to those who
may take over in coming years, whether within the establishment or oppo
sition. Naturally, it has no entries on the future, but it does provides some
basis for looking ahead and answering the question of whether Kenya can
do better, if not whether it actually will. While the chronology, introduc
tion, and dictionary offer a broad overview, they cannot go into all the de
tails. But those can be uncovered readily by consulting the books and ar
ticles in the exceptionally comprehensive bibliography.
This volume was written by two longtime specialists on East Africa.
Thomas P. Ofcansky, who is presently with the Department of State, origi-
IX
x • editor's foreword
nally went to Kenya as a traveler and then as a student conducting research.
Since then, he has visited the country frequently. He has published several
books and numerous articles on East Africa and is the coauthor of the His
torical Dictionary of Tanzania. Robert M. Maxon has spent many years
teaching about Kenya to Kenyans, first as a high school teacher, more re
cently and presently as visiting professor of history at Moi University. He,
too, has written extensively on Kenya and East Africa. Thanks to this ex
perience, Drs. Ofcansky and Maxon have produced an excellent guide
to what remains one of Africa’s most promising countries.
Jon Woronoff
Series Editor
Abbreviations and Acronyms
ADC African District Council
AEMO African Elected Members Organisation
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AIC African Inland Church
AIM Africa Inland Mission
APM Alliance of Protestant Missions
APP African People’s Party
CCK Christian Council of Kenya
CGS Chief(s) of the General Staff
CMS Church Missionary Society
CO Colonial Office
COTU Central Organisation of Trade Unions
CPK Church of the Province of Kenya
CSM Church of Scotland Mission
DP Democratic Party
EAA East African Airways
EAC East African Community
EACM East African Common Market
EACSO East African Common Service Organisation
EAHC East African High Commission
EAINC East African Indian National Congress
EALB East African Literature Bureau
EAP East Africa Protectorate
EATUC East African Trade Union Congress
ESAF Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility
FO Foreign Office
FORD Forum for the Restoration of Democracy
FORD-A Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Asili
FORD-K Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya
FORD-P Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People
GBM Green Belt Movement
XI
XII • ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GEA German East Africa
GEMA Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association
GMS Gospel Missionary Society
GSU General Services Unit
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
IA Indian Association
IBEAC Imperial British East Africa Company
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPK Islamic Party of Kenya
IPPG Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group
KA Kikuyu Association
KADU Kenya African Democratic Union
KANU Kenya African National Union
KAF Kenya Air Force
KAR King’s African Rifles
KASU Kenya African Study Union
KAU Kenya African Union
KCA Kikuyu Central Association
KCB Kenya Central Bank; Kenya Commercial Bank
KDF Kenya Defence Force
KENDA Kenya National Democratic Alliance
KFL Kenya Federation of Labour
KFP Kenya Freedom Party
KLFA Kenya Land and Freedom Army
KLP Kikuyu Loyal Patriots
KPA Kalenjin Political Alliance
KPA Kikuyu Provincial Association
KPU Kenya People’s Union
KSC Kenya Social Congress
LEGCO Legislative Council
MP Member of Parliament
NBI National Bank of India
NCCK National Christian Council of Kenya
NCEC National Convention Executive Council
NDEM National Democratic Party
NDNC Nairobi District National Congress
NDP National Development Party
NFD Northern Frontier District/Province
NFDLF Northern Frontier District Liberation Front
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS XIII
NKCA North Kavirondo Central Association
NPCP Nairobi People’s Convention Party
NPPPP Northern Province People’s Progressive Party
OAU Organization of African Unity
PCEA Presbyterian Church of East Africa
PICK Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya
RAF Royal Air Force
RPP Release Political Prisoners
SDP Social Democratic Party
UEA University of East Africa
UKENYA Movement for Unity and Democracy in Kenya
UMA Ukamba Members Association
UMCA Universities’ Mission to Central Africa
WHO World Health Organisation
YKA Young Kavirondo Association; also, Young Kikuyu Association
