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The Brits were in a pickle when it came to decolonizing Kenya. [British men in a pickle jar]

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Over the years, they’d sent over plenty of British settlers.

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So there was a whole group of white people who’d been born in Africa and felt like

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it was their home, too. [British men holding home sweet home signs in Africa]

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But if Britain finally let Kenya govern itself, the whites were afraid they’d lose all their

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rights and privileges.

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And then their relatives wouldn’t vote for whoever it was that…threw their colonial [Man in an arena with a lion]

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kin to the lions.

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Of course, a growing number of natives didn’t give a hoot about all that business.

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With more and more African states becoming free, they wanted their land back, and they

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wanted it now.

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First, the native Kenyans tried peaceful negotiations. [Kenya and British negotiating]

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When the Brits said…

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“No way”…some Kenyans said…

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“Guess we’ll do this the hard way”…

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Several rebel groups formed, but the most powerful and ruthless was called the Mau Mau. [Mau May group with rifles]

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Sounds more like a tropical dance than a group of ruthless killers, but okay.

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The Mau Mau were unified by the native religious beliefs of the Kikuyo, the dominant

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ethnic group in Kenya.

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Like the Xhosa in South Africa, the Mau Mau wanted to hit Britain where it [Mau Mau soldier hits Britain]

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hurt most.

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No, not there.

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They struck at white property, killing or stealing white-owned cattle herds. [Mau Mau tribe stealing cattle herds]

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It’s hard out there for a cow…

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The violence spread from cows to people in late 1952, when Mau Mau fighters killed a

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white woman defending her home. [Mau Mau soldier shoots woman]

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Even fellow Africans began to feel the wrath of the Mau Mau, after they assassinated two

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white-sympathetic, native politicians.

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Things got bloodier and bloodier over the years as the Mau Mau tortured and murdered

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other Kenyans who said no thanks to joining the rebellion, or were seen as lovers of the [Mau Mau rebels killing Kenyans]

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white man.

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To fight back, the Brits forced Kenyan civilians into what they called “protected villages”…

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which were basically concentration camps.

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These places were full of fun stuff like systematic torture, and disease that was spread by unsanitary [Kenyan child eating unsanitary food]

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conditions.

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So your average ordinary Kenyan was stuck in a terrible position.

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They could help the Mau Mau and run the risk of being tortured and murdered in a British

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camp.

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Or they could refuse to help the Mau Mau and risk being tortured and murdered, uh…in [Kenyan in the middle between two Mau Mau soldiers]

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the comfort of their own homes.

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No way around it…back then, it sucked to be Kenyan.

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At long last, in 1961, the Mau Mau was defeated.

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But back in Britain, public opinion had changed. [Mau Mau fighters waving white flag]

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British voters were scared of another, bloodier war in Kenya, and they were like…enough

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already.

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In 1964, Kenya finally became independent.

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So even though the Mau Mau lost, they also… kinda won.

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Yeah, history is complicated like that.

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The legacy of the Mau Mau still affects Kenyan politics today. [Politicians thinking of Mau Mau rebels]

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Many non-Kikuyu Kenyans blame the Kikuyu for the radical, bloody Mau Mau.

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Non-Kikuyus also aren’t cool with the amount of power the Kikuyu claimed through force

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after Independence.

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The bad blood has erupted into violent outbreaks over the years, most recently in 2009. [People protesting in 2009 in Kenya]

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It’s just another example of how colonialism keeps on damaging a country even after it’s [Colonialism banging Kenya with a hammer]

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gone.

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It’s like an unwelcome guest who eats everything in your fridge and then wonders why everyone

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else is hungry... [Man eating food and woman is angry]

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