Overview

"Kenya's War of Independence restores Kenya's stolen history to its rightful place, stripped of colonial interpretations. In this expanded and revised version of his 1986 booklet, Kimaathi, Mau Mau's First Prime Minister of Kenya, Durrani covers Mau Mau's resistance to colonialism and neo-colonialism and reflects on its ideology, organisation and achievements. He sees Mau Mau in the larger context of Kenya's war of independence and looks at the influence of organised, radical trade unions as the engine of resistance, linking economic with political demands of working people. Additional chapters document the post-independence resistance by the underground December Twelve Movement-Mwakenya. Durrani captures the dynamism of transition from colonialism to neo-colonialism: ""Imperialism replaced colonialism, African elites replaced White Settlers, neo-colonial government replaced colonial government. Resistance changed from the War of Independence to War of Economic Independence. Worker and peasant resistance is evident once again. History is on the march""."

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9789966189011

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The movement [Mau Maul was radicalised by a militant leadership that emerged from the trade union movement in Nairobi the fact is that without their participation a sustained revolt would not have been possible - Newsinger, 2006 This booklet, along with such classic accounts as Barnett's and Njama's Mau Mau From Within, is a fitting tribute to the pioneers in the struggle against imperialism and their martyred leader, Dedan Kimaathi - Egil Hjelmervik, Fight Racism Fight Imperialism 1993 Review of Durrani's Kimaathi, Mau Mau's First Prime Minister of Kenya. Compensation for what happened may be paid, an apology may be given but the lives lost, the villages burnt, the reign of terror the British imposed in a colonial era that was rapidly approaching the sunset, will never be forgotten - Jeremy Corbyn, 2012

Author Information

Shiraz Durrani, a British-Kenyan library science professional, is noted for his writings on the social and political dimensions of information and librarianship. His other books include Never Be Silent: Publishing and Imperialism in Kenya, 1884-1963 (2006); Information and Liberation: Writings on the Politics of Information and Librarianship (2008); Progressive Librarianship: Perspectives from Kenya and Britain, 1979-2010 (2014). In 2016, Durrani edited Makhan Singh, A Revolutionary Kenyan Trade Unionist He is currently compiling another book to be published in 2018: Pio Gama Pinto, The Assassinated Hero of the Anti-Imperialist Struggle in Kenya, 1927-1965.

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