Rise of Mass Nationalism and Political Parties in Africa

1. The colonial governments denied Africans the right to rule themselves. The colonial governments used puppet African chiefs as African political leaders, hence majority of Africans were deprived of the right to elect their leaders democratically.
2. The colonial governments introduced harsh and forced tax payment procedures to the Africans. African workers were over exploited through payment of very low wages and salaries that made them live in devastating conditions. For example in Mozambique and Tanganyika messengers, teachers, clerks and soldiers worked in poor conditions and were lowly paid.
3. Religious, the colonial government and other Europeans living in Africa were strongly against African traditional beliefs and forced Africans to join Christianity through their missionary teachings.
4. They used their education and other skills acquired from the colonial system to demand independence and rebelled by formulating to know how to read, write and simple arithmetic while they maintained their African cultural practices. Examples of independent schools are those formulated by the Kikuyu in Kenya.
5. The over exploitation of Africans by the colonial governments. After the end of the second world war, the colonial governments emphasized on the use of forced labour as an effect of the great depression which affected their economies in their home countries.

The Strengths of Political Parties in Africa

1. The political parties arose awareness among different groups of Africans. This was done through political rallies, propaganda newspapers, and organized boycott for example CPP of Ghana encouraged Ghanaians to boycott the colonialists.
2. The political parties had a major duty of unifying the masses to fight a common enemy, which was colonialism. The political parties used youth and women to unify the masses at the grassroots to fight their common enemy. For example CCP of Ghana under Nkrumah and TANU of Tanganyika. They had youth and women groups to support them in fulfilling their goals of bringing independence.
3. The use of peaceful means to fight for independence unlike armed struggle which led to loss of many African lives and property destructions.

Weakness of Political Parties in Africa

1. The colonial government created restrictions to political parties. They created restrictions in order to limit their activities and slow down the decolonization process. For example the British colonial government restricted government workers from being members of TANU in Tanganyika.
2. Opposition among political parties within individual African countries, each political party competing against the other to the extent of conducting campaigns against the other instead of joining hands in fighting their common enemy. The major causes of such rivalry were ethnism, regionalism.
3. Many political parties faced financial constraints, this was due to its members who were poor and unable to contribute the money required for various political activities.
4. Political parties lacked the support of other organizations such as women, youth, farmer associations in their move of propagating the decolonization process in Africa.

Kenya nationalism was dominated by:

• The rise of political parties
• The emergence of Mau Mau freedom fighters

KANU (Kenya African National Union)

1. Was formed in 1944 by Eliud Mahu, a member of Legco.
2. It demanded an increase of African representatives in Legco.
3. Harry Thuki became the chairman but handed over the leadership to James Gichuru in 1945.
4. In 1946, Kenyatta became the president of the party.
5. The party was mainly Kikuyu and had no strength beyond the central province.
6. It was not possible for KANU to mobilize many people who were not literate.
7. Europeans hated the party.
8. The party was banned in 1952.

Mau Mau

1. Mau Mau was an armed struggle against the White settlers in Kenya from 1952–1960 aimed at bringing independence quickly.
2. The group was started by KAU extremists and ex-soldiers.
3. The colonial government took oppressive actions, so Africans fought to remove such oppression.

Causes of Mau Mau Movement

1. Land alienation: Colonial government alienated African land and gave it to the European settlers for production of cash crops and settlement. This made Africans to fight for the lost land.
2. Forced labor: Africans were forced to work in settler's farms colonial government ensured constant supply of African labor by passing various labor ordinances e.g. Native master relation labor ordinance of 1921 which required African to carry identity (Kipande system) to show completion of a task in settler's farm. This annoyed Africans.
3. Taxation: Taxation imposed on African led to the outbreak of Mau Mau. The people were highly taxed and those who failed were punished. British learnt a lesson that their administrative created grievance and discontent among the African.

Effects of Mau Mau Movement

1. Depopulation: More than 13,000 people - Asians, civilians, Europeans and freedom fighter lost their lives.
2. Detention camps: Many people were forced into reserves and detention camps where they suffered harsh treatments and bad living conditions.
3. Fear: It created fear and worries of being killed especially in the central province where most fighting took place.
4. Independence: Mau Mau forced the British to speed up independence to other colonies e.g. Tanganyika.
5. Costs: It brought high costs amounting to pounds 50,000 to Kenya colonial government and the British as underground movement in Nairobi in 1946.

Aims of Mau Mau Movement

1. To kill all Europeans and Africans who support them.
2. To bring Kenya independence as soon as possible.
3. To speed up writing of a just constitution.
4. Ending alienation among the Kikuyu.

Participants in Mau Mau Movement

1. Leaders – Waritiu Otote – General China, Dedan Kimathi, Jomo Kenyatta.
2. Others – Kikuyu waged laborers, ex-soldiers from WWII and other dissatisfied groups.

Problems and Obstacles that Hindered the Struggle for Independence in Kenya

1. Settlers' opposition: Nationalistic struggle: settlers opposed nationalistic struggles because they feared that once Kenya became Independent, Africans would grab their land.
2. Tribalism: Tribalism among the Africans divided Africans in the fight for independence. Political parties such as KANU and KADU were formed in tribal basis.
3. Personality clashes: Personality clashes between leaders in some political parties.