GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

  After subduing indigenous Kenyan communities, the British embarked on establishing a Central and local government for efficient and effective administration. The subjection of Kenyan Africans to British rule was accomplished when the seat of colonial administration was shifted from Zanzibar to Nairobi in 1905. The following are factors that undermined British efforts to establish a good system of administration in Kenya up to 1914 They lacked both funds and experts to facilitate colonial administration in Africa, let alone Kenya. They lacked a Reference model of an administrative system like that of the traditional Buganda that could be emulated by Kenyan communities for the purpose of administration. Most of the chiefs selected by the British lacked legitimacy, for they were rejected by the African elders, who regarded them as nonentities as well as the young generations, who saw them as instruments of colonial exploitation and oppression. Many chiefs used their power to acquire...

  The Maasai and the original Kalenjin speakers first lived in the northern Lake Turkana area. They may have entered east Africa around 1000AD. Being nomadic pastoralists, they probably migrated mainly due to the need for fresh grazing land and water for their large herd. In spite of their close association with the original Kalenjin speakers in the Northern Lake Turkana region and elsewhere, the Maasai may have developed separately, as shown by the different languages and cultures among and between them and their previous associates. Around 1500AD, the Maasai began to move within the area between mount Elgon and mount Kamalinga and reached the Uasingishu plateau. Around 1700AD, they went southwards and established themselves in the area previously occupied by the Kalenjin, who had migrated ahead of them. They assimilated some of the people they conquered, such as the Sirikwa. By 1800, the Maasai had occupied much of the Central Kenya plains and north-central Tanzania. By that time...

  Various factors led to the defeat of African communities by the British during the establishment of colonial rule in Kenya as follows: The communities were not united. While some like the Nandi resisted, Others like the Wanga collaborated with British rule. They had inferior weapons which were no much for British fire-arms. African soldiers had little knowledge of the British military tactics. They had been weakened by catastrophes such as famine, Rinderpest outbreak and civil strife in the 1890s. Their leaders lacked organizational skills to mobilize the people against the British. The British used treachery when dealing with some communities e.g. the Nandi. The British destroyed the economic base of the communities, thus making them weak. The warriors got demoralized when many of their colleagues and leaders were captured and killed. The Kenya-Uganda railway facilitated faster movement of British troops RELATED POSTS 9 CONDITIONS FAVOURING IRRIGATION FARMING IN EGYPT 5 CAUSES O...