ON THIS DAY ·
Kenya gains independence from Britain
At midnight in Nairobi the Union flag comes down. Kenya becomes independent ten years after the Emergency began, with Jomo Kenyatta, once jailed as its organiser, as prime minister.
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The moment in context
By 1960 Britain's leaders wanted to leave Kenya. They also wanted a successor government that would protect British friends and investments. Iain Macleod, the minister responsible for the colonies as Colonial Secretary since October 1959, chaired the first Lancaster House conference in London from January to February 1960. As it met, Harold Macmillan told the South African parliament on 3 February that a “wind of change” was blowing through Africa.
From Road to Kenyan independence, chapter 10 of Two Roads to Independence: Haiti 1789–1838 and Kenya 1895–1978 (1963).
Teach this in 5 minutes
- Why it happened — The Emergency made settler rule unaffordable. The Emergency revealed how much settler power depended on British soldiers and money. Even after the forest war, London faced bills for camps,…
- The turn — Gatundu, August 1961. KANU's refusal to govern without Kenyatta made his detention a barrier to a stable government. When he was released to his home at Gatundu on 14…
- What it changed — Majimbo dismantled. KADU dissolved itself into KANU in November 1964. Kenya became a republic on 12 December, with Kenyatta as president. Amendments in 1964 and 1965…
Then ask the room: Was Kenya’s independence granted by Britain or won by Kenyans? The argued answer is on the chapter page →
The atlas that shows it
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