The
Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), led by
James BeauttahJames Beauttah led the Kikuyu Central Association, Kenya's first all-African political organization together with Joseph Kang'ethe. They were later joined by Jomo Kenyatta in 1924....
and Joseph Kang'ethe, was a political organisation in colonial
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
formed in 1924/5 to act on behalf of the
KĩkũyũThe Kikuyu are Kenya's most populous ethnic group. 'Kikuyu' is the Swahilized form of the proper name and pronunciation of Gĩkũyũ although they refer to themselves as the Agĩkũyũ people....
community by presenting their concerns to the British government. One of its greatest grievances was the loss by African farmers of the most productive land to the British settlers. Most members of the organisation were from the
KĩkũyũThe Kikuyu are Kenya's most populous ethnic group. 'Kikuyu' is the Swahilized form of the proper name and pronunciation of Gĩkũyũ although they refer to themselves as the Agĩkũyũ people....
tribe.
KCA was formed after the colonial government banned the earlier
Young Kikuyu AssociationThe Young Kikuyu Association, formed in 1921, was a protest movement in Kenya, organized by Harry Thuku. Thuku, a telephone operator, attacked high taxes and British dominance of Kenyans. The movement was short-lived; Thuku was arrested , and local violence by the Association was suppressed. Kenya...
founded by
Harry ThukuHarry Thuku was born in Kenya into the Kikuyu ethnic group, one of the groups that lost the largest amount of land to white settlers during the British takeover of Kenya....
and the East African Association.
The
Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), led by
James BeauttahJames Beauttah led the Kikuyu Central Association, Kenya's first all-African political organization together with Joseph Kang'ethe. They were later joined by Jomo Kenyatta in 1924....
and Joseph Kang'ethe, was a political organisation in colonial
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
formed in 1924/5 to act on behalf of the
KĩkũyũThe Kikuyu are Kenya's most populous ethnic group. 'Kikuyu' is the Swahilized form of the proper name and pronunciation of Gĩkũyũ although they refer to themselves as the Agĩkũyũ people....
community by presenting their concerns to the British government. One of its greatest grievances was the loss by African farmers of the most productive land to the British settlers. Most members of the organisation were from the
KĩkũyũThe Kikuyu are Kenya's most populous ethnic group. 'Kikuyu' is the Swahilized form of the proper name and pronunciation of Gĩkũyũ although they refer to themselves as the Agĩkũyũ people....
tribe.
KCA was formed after the colonial government banned the earlier
Young Kikuyu AssociationThe Young Kikuyu Association, formed in 1921, was a protest movement in Kenya, organized by Harry Thuku. Thuku, a telephone operator, attacked high taxes and British dominance of Kenyans. The movement was short-lived; Thuku was arrested , and local violence by the Association was suppressed. Kenya...
founded by
Harry ThukuHarry Thuku was born in Kenya into the Kikuyu ethnic group, one of the groups that lost the largest amount of land to white settlers during the British takeover of Kenya....
and the East African Association.
Jomo KenyattaJomo Kenyatta[pron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya.He was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi after his death in August 1978....
, later the first president of Kenya, joined it to become its General Secretary in 1927.
The Kikuyu Central Association was banned in 1940 when World War II reached East Africa. Some fighters of the later Mau-Mau still understood their struggle as continuation of KCA and even called themselves KCA.
The end of World War II, however, saw the new type of African organisation that went beyond tribal boundaries with the rise of the
Kenya African UnionKenya African Union was a political organization formed in 1944to articulate Kenyan grievances against the British colonial administration of the time...
that later was to become
KANUThe Kenya African National Union, better known as KANU, ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after its independence from British colonial rule in 1963, until its electoral loss at the end of 2002...
.
KCA published the
Muiguithania ("the reconciler"), a Kikuyu language newspaper. It was banned alongside KCA in 1940 .
External links