Fitz Remedios Santana de Souza
Encyclopedia
Fitz Remedios Santana de Souza (born 1929, Mumbai
), often known as Dr. F. R. S. de Souza, is a Kenya
n lawyer and ex-politician of India
n origin, who was an important figure in the campaign for independence for Kenya
, a member of the Kenyan parliament in the 1960s and Deputy Speaker for several years. He helped provide a legal defence for those accused of Mau Mau activities, and he was one of the people involved in the Lancaster House conference
s held to draw up a constitutional framework for Kenyan independence.
Born to a Goa
n family in Mumbai, de Souza lived in Zanzibar
before settling in Kenya in 1942. Fitz de Souza took a first degree in England
and trained as a barrister
at Lincoln's Inn
.
As a young man in 1952 he joined a team of lawyers from various Commonwealth
countries, including the British barrister Denis Nowell Pritt
and other lawyers educated in England but not born there, defending Kenyans accused of Mau Mau activities by the British colonial administration, in a series of trials including that of Jomo Kenyatta
. Feelings in the country were running high, with some settlers of European ancestry disrupting any legal process for people they considered assassins, while other people in Kenya were convinced of bad faith amongst those involved in the all-white British prosecution. In this atmosphere, de Souza and an Asian
colleague faced implied allegations of 'encouraging' defendants to criticise police witnesses, but judges at the East African Court of Appeal supported them, praising their assistance to the court.
For part of the 1950s Fitz de Souza was studying for a PhD
at the London School of Economics
and was politically active both there and in Kenya. His doctoral thesis was on "Indian Political Organization in East Africa" (1959). He knew Kenyatta and was a major figure in the movement towards an independent Kenya. He has been described during this period both as a "freedom fighter" and as someone "organiz[ing] Africans and Asians against the colour bar".
In the early 1960s he was a legal adviser at the Lancaster House conferences in London
where Kenyatta and the Kenyans worked with the UK Colonial Secretary
, Reginald Maudling
, and his team to develop a constitution for the country. In 2001 de Souza told the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission why he felt the Lancaster House Constitution had been a good constitutional framework, and expressed his disagreement with some subsequent changes, especially the re-introduction of detention without trial. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has described him as making "a principled exit from public life in the 70s".
De Souza was an elected member of the Kenyan Parliament even before full independence in 1963, and Deputy Speaker of the Lower House from June 1963. He left this post in 1970, spent many years in private practice, and is now semi-retired. He is married with four grown-up children.
In 2004 he was given a Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award alongside other people honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the understanding of the Indian civilisation and for advancing India's cause abroad" at a conference opened by the Indian prime minister and organised with the aim of "bringing together the Indian Diaspora
and leveraging the potential offered by the Global Indian Family".
2005 brought a different kind of publicity when a Pulitzer prize
-winning book written by Caroline Elkins
, an associate professor at Harvard, quoted a "respected attorney in Nairobi
", de Souza, as believing that at least one hundred thousand Kikuyu disappeared at the time of Mau Mau, in "a form of ethnic cleansing on the part of the British government".These figures have been challenged by John Darwin, a fellow of Nuffield College
, and lecturer on the History of the British Commonwealth at Oxford University.
In December 2006, Commissioner for Non Resident Indian affairs (Government of Goa) Eduardo Faleiro announced that Souza would be one of the eight persons to be honoured during the Global Goans Convention, to be held from January 3-5, 2006. The awards, for the first time, are being given to "eminent non-resident Goans and persons of Goan origin."
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
), often known as Dr. F. R. S. de Souza, is a Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n lawyer and ex-politician of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n origin, who was an important figure in the campaign for independence for Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, a member of the Kenyan parliament in the 1960s and Deputy Speaker for several years. He helped provide a legal defence for those accused of Mau Mau activities, and he was one of the people involved in the Lancaster House conference
Lancaster House Conferences (Kenya)
The Lancaster House conferences were three meetings in which Kenya's constitutional framework and independence were negotiated.*The first conference was under the chairmanship of Secretary of State for the Colonies Ian Macleod in 1960...
s held to draw up a constitutional framework for Kenyan independence.
Born to a Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
n family in Mumbai, de Souza lived in Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
before settling in Kenya in 1942. Fitz de Souza took a first degree in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and trained as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
.
As a young man in 1952 he joined a team of lawyers from various Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
countries, including the British barrister Denis Nowell Pritt
Denis Nowell Pritt
Denis Nowell Pritt , usually known as D.N. Pritt, was a British barrister and Labour Party politician. Born in Harlesden, Middlesex, he was educated at Winchester College and London University....
and other lawyers educated in England but not born there, defending Kenyans accused of Mau Mau activities by the British colonial administration, in a series of trials including that of Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyattapron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation....
. Feelings in the country were running high, with some settlers of European ancestry disrupting any legal process for people they considered assassins, while other people in Kenya were convinced of bad faith amongst those involved in the all-white British prosecution. In this atmosphere, de Souza and an Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
colleague faced implied allegations of 'encouraging' defendants to criticise police witnesses, but judges at the East African Court of Appeal supported them, praising their assistance to the court.
For part of the 1950s Fitz de Souza was studying for a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and was politically active both there and in Kenya. His doctoral thesis was on "Indian Political Organization in East Africa" (1959). He knew Kenyatta and was a major figure in the movement towards an independent Kenya. He has been described during this period both as a "freedom fighter" and as someone "organiz[ing] Africans and Asians against the colour bar".
In the early 1960s he was a legal adviser at the Lancaster House conferences in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where Kenyatta and the Kenyans worked with the UK Colonial Secretary
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
, Reginald Maudling
Reginald Maudling
Reginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965...
, and his team to develop a constitution for the country. In 2001 de Souza told the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission why he felt the Lancaster House Constitution had been a good constitutional framework, and expressed his disagreement with some subsequent changes, especially the re-introduction of detention without trial. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has described him as making "a principled exit from public life in the 70s".
De Souza was an elected member of the Kenyan Parliament even before full independence in 1963, and Deputy Speaker of the Lower House from June 1963. He left this post in 1970, spent many years in private practice, and is now semi-retired. He is married with four grown-up children.
In 2004 he was given a Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award alongside other people honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the understanding of the Indian civilisation and for advancing India's cause abroad" at a conference opened by the Indian prime minister and organised with the aim of "bringing together the Indian Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
and leveraging the potential offered by the Global Indian Family".
2005 brought a different kind of publicity when a Pulitzer prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning book written by Caroline Elkins
Caroline Elkins
Caroline Elkins is a professor of History at Harvard University. She studies the colonial encounter in Africa during the twentieth century, and the British treatment of the Kikuyu in Kenya....
, an associate professor at Harvard, quoted a "respected attorney in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
", de Souza, as believing that at least one hundred thousand Kikuyu disappeared at the time of Mau Mau, in "a form of ethnic cleansing on the part of the British government".These figures have been challenged by John Darwin, a fellow of Nuffield College
Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college and primarily a research establishment, specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. It is a research centre in the social sciences...
, and lecturer on the History of the British Commonwealth at Oxford University.
In December 2006, Commissioner for Non Resident Indian affairs (Government of Goa) Eduardo Faleiro announced that Souza would be one of the eight persons to be honoured during the Global Goans Convention, to be held from January 3-5, 2006. The awards, for the first time, are being given to "eminent non-resident Goans and persons of Goan origin."