\\ > , SOCIO-ECONOMIC INEQUALITIES IN KENYA // The Case of Rift Valley Province BY N. A. GATHERU WANJOHI A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI OCTOBER 1976 THIS THESIS HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED FOR A DEGREE IN ANY OTHER UNIVERSITY THIS THESIS HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR EXAMINATION WITH OUR APPROVAL AS UNIVERSITY SUPERVISORS Principal Supervisor. Second Supervisor Ill - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the University of Nairobi, and f ' particularly the Department of Government, for the scholarship which they most kindly allocated to me and made the preparation of this thesis possible. Right from the beginning of my postgraduate work the one person who has been most associated with my work was Dr, Nicholas Nyangira, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government, University of Nairobi, He most kindly accepted tne taxing duty of becoming my supervisor for the second time, the first one having been during my undergraduate preparation for the B,A. Dissertation. It was mainly because of his advice, guidance, and patience that this thesis came to materialize, I extend my special thanks to him. Dr, E.t'.K, Dalizu, who was originally my second supervisor, fell victim of the landless- unemployed-workers at the Escarpment while he hurried back to Nairobi from his weekend holiday in order to continue reading my draft. They beat him and caused him great injuries to an extent that he was admitted at Nairobi Hospital, Although he had already made very useful contributions, for which I was very grateful, he could net continue that good work. He asked me to have someone else continue reading my draft and the Chairman of the Department of Government, Dr. S,W, Rohio, allocated the Job to Professor G,C.M. Mutiso. The latter read through the thesis and also made valuable contributions* Many people who made contributions in respect of my research at Nakuru District required that I promise never to reveal their names* This was mainly because they feared that the poeerful arm of the petty-bourgeoisie would be applied upon them unfavourably* These included several government officials, private companies* bureaucrats, politicians businessmen and farmers, small-petty-traders, peasants squatters, employed and unemployed-landless workers, I am greatly indebted to them all. At various stages of my research the people who assisted me in with typing this thesis included Miss Joyce Wanjiru lambugu, Miss R, wanjiru Raing’o, my sister Miss Eva wanjiru *anjohi, and Mr* Festus Geoffrey Gathogo of Department of Government. Miss winifred Kuria, Secretary in the Diplomacy Training Programme, University of Nairobi, typed the final draft* To them all I am most grateful* Lastly, may I record the numerous helpful suggestions I received from all members of the Department of Government and the Department of English* Of these, I should record that my discussions with Mr, D,H. Kiiru were most useful* • V - ff„P. g ?, F K T g Page Declaration...................... ............. II Acknowledgements............................ • • III List of Tables....,........................... VI List of Abbreviations..... .......... VIII Abstract............... ...................... IX Preface............. ......... XII Chapter I Socio-Economic Inequalities! A Basis of Socio-political Analysis.1^ Chapter II Land and African Traditional Socio-Economic Structure: The Case of Rift Valley Province,. 90 - Chapter III European Alienation of Land in Kenya: The Case of Nakuru District.... 169 s Chapter IV Socio-Economic Inequalities and Transfer of "White Highlands" to Africans: The Case of Kakuru District....... 277 f / Chapter V Consolidation of Capitalism in Kenya. ..... 404 y Appendix I Additional Tables for Chapter III. 435 Appendix TI Example of Temporary Occupation Lieemce for Africans............. 437 Appendix III Some Background Information on Some Members of The "Big 36"...... 438 Bibliography............... .............•••••• 444 - VI - L 1 S T OF T A T ! i- £ - CHAPTER TII Table Pnge T An Analysis of Land Alienated by Government,...182,A II Cummulative Acreage of Laftd .alienated By The Government,.................... 214?^ Ill European Population In Kenya By Years # And Districts.......................... 218^ IV Number of Farmers by Pace and Years, IS j 1-1948,............................. 220 V Furopean Population end African Population By Ethiic Groups (1909-3933) Uuivasha District,..................... 222 VI European and African Population,Hut and Poll Tax, 1909-1946,Na kuru District,......... 223. VII Dome of the land Alienated in 1950-62,........ 227- VIII Number of Africans ard Hut and Poll Tax, 1909-1953,Naivasha District............233 . IX Kikuyu and Other Africans,Hut and Poll r’ax, 1909-1939,Nakuru and Naivesha Districts,.... ........................ 234 . X Mair Squatter Crop Production in ro>uids, 1916-20.Nuivacha District.............. 238 . XI Approximeto Value of Main Imported Goode Consumed By Afrleans,1916-1920, NaiYasha District,.................... 239 XII African Population Bv Ethnic Groups Compared with Hut and Poll Tax,1916-1920, Naivacha Di strict * .................... 240 XIII Employment Sectors By Yearly Percent gee of African Labour Cply,.... 253 XIV African Agricultural Employees, Appendix I. XV African Agricultural Employees Working on Poncas Date,________________ ________ ______ .dlx I, - VII L I 3 T . OF TABLES - CHAPTER IV. Table Page I Statistics of Land Purchase Programme....... 304 II Progress of Land Re-3ettlement, 1963/64 - 1966/67........................... 306 III Land Re-settlement: Area Planned and Plots Allocated, 1963 - 1972................................. 307 IV Land Re-settlement: Land Purchased Under Shirika Programme, 1971 - 75................................... 310 V Population of Main Ethnic Groups, By Year and Percentage of Increase or Decrease,1962-1969,Nakuru District...... 318 VI Acreage of Farms,Number of Farms by Type of Ownership or Holding,Nakuru District, 1974,................ 320 VII The Source and Amount of Loans Approved by the Agricultural Finance Corporation(AFC), 1971,.... 330 VIII Age of Businessmen by Level of Education.... 340 IX Percentage of Bueinessmentby Years Spent in School............................ 340 X Size of Land Owned by Percentage of Businessmen. ................................. 343 XI Size of Stock and size of Land by Percentage of Buslnessmen.Nakuru.District.... ....... 346 XII Source of Business Loans by Percentage of Loans Received......... ........358 - VIII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IBEAC Imperial British East African Company. KNFU Kenya National Farmers Union. KAU Kenya African Union. KCA Kikuyu Central Association. KANU Kenya African National Union. KADU Kenya African Democratic Union. KPU Kenya People's Union GEMA Gikuyu Embu and Meru Association. NAU New Akamba Union. KCC Kenya Cooperatives Creameries. KMC Kenya Meat Commission. AFC Agricultural Finance Corporation. ADC Agricultural Development Corporation. KFA Kenya Farmers' Association (Cooperatives Ltd.) CFC Credit Finance Corporation Ltd. ICDC Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation. \ DFCK Development Finance Company of Kenya Ltd. HFCK Housing Finance Company of Kenya Ltd. HFC Housing Finance Corporation. - IX - ABSTRACT s This thesis is about the emergence and development of socio-economic inequalities in Kenya* It mainly deals with the role of land as a factor of economic exploitation by the European settler capitalism. It also deals with African cheap labour as the exploited factor of the newly introduced colonial capitalism. The study therefore deals .with the supplanting of the African traditional socio-economic systems by European capitalism and related oppressive government machinery. As such, it becomes a study of white settlement and alienation of the African land owners. Nakuru District in Rift Valley Province is used as a case study to demonstrate the development of inequalities from the precolonial times to the post-independence period. The study begins with a brief look at some of the ideas on the subject of socio-economic inequalities. These include the Marxist and Weberian ideas, and also the more recent ideas on the role of international capital in the so called “Third World". African traditional socio-economic systems are briefly examined as a prelude to establishment of colonialism which extended capitalist exploitation to foreign lands. These included the Ndorobo (Dorobo), the Masai, the Nandi, and the Kikuyu. All these X except the Kikuyu were found in or around the Nakuru District on the eve of European occupation of the district. The Kikuyu are included as they constituted the greatest majority of the African migrants into the area during the colonial (and to a great extent during the post-independence) period. The extent to which these societies were egalitarian and communal is analysed in relation to the destruction that they later suffered under colonial capitalist subjugation and exploitation* The basis and the process of land alienation by European settlers under the umbrella of British Government in Britain and its agents in Kenya becomes a crucial part of the thesis* This part coincides with the colonial period* It includes the various methods used by the European settlers in order to obtain cheap or free land and labour for them to exploit* Resistance by Africans from being converted into wage labourers for the benefit of the capitalist Europeans is also observed. The next part of the thesis deals with the transfer