2009/07/06 by Evanson N. Wamagatta · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #African history and culture studies #Colonialism, slavery, and trade #Global Maritime and Colonial Histories
paper · doi:10.1177/0021909609105090
crossref issued 2009/07/06 · crossref published 2009/07/06 · crossref published-online 2009/07/06 · openalex publication_date 2009/07/06 · crossref created 2009/07/06 · crossref published-print 2009/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/04/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/07 · crossref indexed 2026/07/28
This article argues that the chiefs' tyranny in early colonial Kenya had its roots in the British administrative style since the Government needed strong-handed local leaders to enforce its unpopular laws and regulations. That was why the chiefs got away with their tyranny because the Government condoned it to a certain extent. They also got away with it because of the alien nature of their positions, their duties and their people inadvertently condoning it. The first generation of chiefs from Kiambu district is used as a case study to illustrate what was happening in the colony during the period under study.