Conflict episode

Mau Mau uprising, 1952-1960

The Mau Mau, mainly Kikuyu fighters seeking the return of land and self-rule, waged an armed uprising against British colonial rule from 1952 to 1960, met with a declared state of emergency, mass detentions, and a disputed casualty toll far higher than the official figure.

What happened

The Mau Mau, composed mainly of Kikuyu fighters along with some from the Embu and Meru communities, waged an armed uprising against British colonial rule and settler land policy from 1952 to 1960. The British declared a state of emergency, conducted extensive military operations, and detained up to 150,000 Kikuyu in detention camps. The official British colonial death toll among the Mau Mau was recorded as 11,503, a figure widely regarded as an undercount; other estimates put Kenyan deaths at over 20,000, against roughly 32 white European civilians killed by the Mau Mau. No single casualty figure is treated as authoritative.[1]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The Mau Mau, mainly Kikuyu fighters, waged an armed uprising against British colonial rule from 1952 to 1960; the British declared a state of emergency and detained up to 150,000 Kikuyu in detention camps. The official British colonial death toll among the Mau Mau was recorded as 11,503, a figure widely regarded as an undercount; other published estimates put Kenyan deaths at over 20,000, against roughly 32 white European civilians killed by the Mau Mau. No single casualty figure is treated as authoritative.

Source note

Show in the notes list