Mau Mau's Army of Clerks: Colonial Military Service and the Kenya Land Freedom Army in Kenya's National Imagination

Mau Mau's Army of Clerks: Colonial Military Service and the Kenya Land Freedom Army in Kenya's National Imagination

Author: 
Parsons, Timothy H.
Publisher: 
Cambridge University Press
Date published: 
2017
Record type: 
Journal Title: 
Journal of African History
Source: 
The Journal of African History, Vol. 58, No. 2, July 2017, pp. 285-309
Abstract: 

Scholarly and popular histories of Kenya largely agree that African Second World War veterans played a central role in the Kenya Land Freedom Army. Former African members of the colonial security forces have reinforced these assumptions by claiming to have been covert Mau Mau supporters, either after their discharge, or as serving soldiers. In reality, few Mau Mau generals had actual combat experience. Those who served in the colonial military usually did so in labor units or support arms. It therefore warrants asking why so many Kenyans accept that combat veterans played such a central role in the KLFA and in Kenyan history. Understanding how veterans of the colonial army have become national heroes, both for their wartime service and their supposed leadership of Mau Mau, reveals the capacity of popular history to create more useful and inclusive forms of African nationalism.

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CITATION: Parsons, Timothy H.. Mau Mau's Army of Clerks: Colonial Military Service and the Kenya Land Freedom Army in Kenya's National Imagination . : Cambridge University Press , 2017. The Journal of African History, Vol. 58, No. 2, July 2017, pp. 285-309 - Available at: https://library.au.int/mau-maus-army-clerks-colonial-military-service-and-kenya-land-freedom-army-kenyas-national