CAB/129/65 8 February 1954, Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies; detention of supporters of Mau Mau

7/29/2019 CAB/129/65 8 February 1954, Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies; detention of supporters of

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Catalogue Reference:CAB/129/65 Image Reference:0050


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T he circulation of this paper has been strictly limited.I t is issued for thepersonal use o f . . ^W ^ - . . / . r ^Sk ^m^

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Copy No..C A B I N E T O F F I C ER E C O R D C O P Y

8TH FEBRUARY. 1Q5U CABI NET

KENYA DETENTI ON OF SUPPORTERS OF MAU MAU Memor andum by t he Secretary of Sta te f or t he Pol oni es

The pr esent s i t uat i on i n Kenya r equi r es t hat mor e ef f ect i vest eps shoul d be t aken t o neut r al i s e t he pass i ve suppor t er s of Mau Mau and, i n par t i cul ar , t he l ar ge number of unempl oyed Ki kuyu who have dr i f t ed i nt o Nai r obi . They f or m mos t of t he ex- i m nal el ement i n t he c i t y and ar e r eady conver t s t o Mau Mau. Amongst ot her t hi ngs st eps must be t aken whi ch wi l l i nc r ease s ubs t a nt i al l y t he number of per sons t o be hel d on Gover nor f s det ent i on or der s . Si nce t her e i s not hi ng mor e demoral i s i ng t han t o be shut up wi t h not hi ng t o do, i t i s i nt ended t o empl oy such per s ons compul sor i l y. The wor k wi l l not be penal or oppr ess i ve and I pr opose t o l ay i t down t hat mar ket r at es of wages wi l l be pai d. Under exi st i ng Emer gency Regul at i ons i t i s open t o t he Gover nor t o dec l ar e any det ent i on camp a spec i al det ent i on camp f or r ehabi l i t at i on pur pos es and t he per sons i n t hose c amps can be r equi r ed t o wor k. 2 D Ci r cumst ances such as t hese' wer e not f or eseen when t heFor ced Labour Convent i on of 1930, t o whi ch Her Maj es t y' sGover nment and t he Kenya Gover nment , have adher ed, was dr awnup; i t i s not cl ear whet her t he act i on pr oposed i n t hepr ecedi ng par agr aph woul d be a br each of t hat Convent i on.I t can be ar gued t hat t he exempt i ons pr ovi ded i n t he Convent i onI n case of emer gency woul d c over : what i s pr oposed. I t can,however , cer t ai nl y be argued al so t hat t hey do not and t hata t echni cal br each of t he Convent i on woul d be i nvol ved. I nany case ext ensi ve use of t he emer gency power s i n t he waypr oposed woul d be l i k e l y t o gi ve r i s e t o i nt er nat i onal andPar l i ament ar y c r i t i c i sm Comment i ng on s i m l ar r egul at i onsi n f or c e i n Mal aya, t he Uni t ed Nat i ons Ad Hoc Cornm- ot ee onFor ced Labour (1953) sai d t hat such' power s " i f br oadl yi nt er pr et ed and ext ens i vel y appl i ed, coul d l ead t o a system off or ced l abour as a means of pol i t i c al coer ci on" . Shor t ofcompl et e denunci at i on of t he Convent i on by Her Maj es t y' sGover nment , t her e i s no escape f r om t he obl i gat i ons under t heConvent i on. A br each of t he Counci l of Eur ope Convent i on onHuman Ri ght s i s al s o pr obabl y i nvol ved; Ar t i c l e 15 per m t sder ogat i ons f r om t he obl i gat i ons accept ed i n t i me of publ i cemer genc y but onl y so f ar as may be cons i s t ent wi t h "ot herobl i gat i ons under I nt er nat i onal l aw. "


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3o I am sat i sf i ed however t hat t he si t uat i on i n Kenyar equi r es t hat t he br each, i f such i t i s, he accept ed andj ust i f i ed on t he gr ounds t hat , ( i ) we are deal i ng wi t h except i onal ci r cumst ances not cont empl at ed by t he Convent i on;

( i i ) we are not of f endi ng agai nst t he spi r i t of t he Convent i on whi ch was f r amed pr i mar i l y to pr event t he expl oi t at i on of l abour ; ( i i i ) t he measures t aken ar e emer gency measures and wi l l be r esci nded as soon as normal condi t i ons have been r est ored.

ho Copi es of t he r el evant t el egr aphi c cor r espondence wi t ht he Kenya Gover nment are at t ached. I now seek endor sementof t he pol i cy pr oposed.

O. L.

Col oni al Of f i ce, S. W1.8TH FEBRUARY, I 95I+.

ANNEX Tel egr am No. 72 dated 27t h J anuary. 195 4-f r om t he Gover nor of Kenya t o t he Secret ar y of St at e f or t he Col oni es

Commander - i n- Chi ef has present ed. "Appr eci at i on on t heFut ur e M l i t ar y Pol i cy i n Kenya 195V and I hope t o send youcopy ver y shor t l y. Appr eci at i on emphasi ses t hat any m l i t ar ypl an adopt ed must not pr ej udi ce t he l ong- t er m pol i t i cal pol i cyf or Kenya and, af t er r evi ewi ng t he whol e si t uat i on, concl udes,si nce i nf l i ct i on of cri ppl i ng casual t i es on t he enemy i s notpossi bl e i n condi t i ons i n whi ch the secur i t y f or ces have t ooper at e agai nst Mau Mau, cer t ai n dr ast i c adm ni st r at i vemeasur es are ur gent l y necessar y i n suppor t of m l i t ar y act i oni f t he Emer gency i s to be br ought t o an end.2 Chi ef of t hese ar e:

( a) Lar ge- scal e det ent i on of Ki kuyu on suspi ci on as a pr ophyl act i c measur e, i . e. change i n pr esent det ent i on pr act i ce.

( b) By 1st Apr i l cl ean- up of Nai r obi by: ( i ) evacuat i on of al l Ki kuyu, Mer u and Embu f r om Nai r obi and t hei r det ent i on; or

( i i ) al t er nat i vel y, t he evacuat i on and ' det ent i on of al l unempl oyed or suspect ed Ki kuyu, et c. f r om t he

Ci t y,


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( c) Pr ovi s i on of i nac ces s i bl e and di s t ant det ent i oncamps wi t h capaci t y of 100,000 per sons andcapabl e of expansi on,( d) Af t er c l ean- up of Nai r obi , r emoval of al l or par t of Ki kuyu l abour f r om t he set t l ed ar eas . ( e) Reor gani s at i on of hi gher Emer gency cont r ol i nt o ;

( i ) Tbp- Level Emer gency Cabi net consi st i ng of Gover nor , Commander - - i n- Chi ef , Deput y Gover nor and pos s i bl y Bl undel l 0 ( i i ) Smal l execut i ve body based on, but smal l er t han, , pr esent Col ony Emer gency Comm t t ee

wi t h Cr awf or d as Chai r man and Hi nde as Execut i ve Of f i cer , , ( i i i ) Emer genc y Sec r e t ar i at on t he l i nes of Cabi net Secr et ar i at t o s ecur e l i ai s on and co- or di nat i on bet ween Depar t ment s of t he Gover nment and Br anches of t he Gener al Headquar t er s. ( i v) For mat i on of ad hoc Wor k i ng Par t i es t o pr oduce pl ans f or such mat t er s as' det ent i on camps, Nai r obi c l ean- up,

sanct i ons and r eor gani s at i on i n t he Ki kuyu r eser ves , et c. ( f ) Bui l d- up of t he Home Guar d so t hat t hey and t he pol i ce can t ake over ar eas t o be vacat ed by t he m l i t ar y. ( g) A number of meas ur es f or st r i ct er adm ni s t r at i ve di sci pl i ne i n t he reserves and i n Nai r obi Ci t y.

3. Gener al l y , I agr ee that pr esent somewhat s t at i c s i t uat i onr equi r es dr as t i c ac t i on i f t he end of t he Emer gency i s t o beexpedi t ed and t he danger of spr eadi ng Mau Mau t o ot her t r i besavoi ded, and t hat c l ean- up of Nai r obi and bui l d- up of Ki kuyuguar d ( nowbei ng under t aken) are par t i c ul ar l y i mpor t ant . Ial s o agr ee ent i r el y wi t h t he need f or r eor gani s at i on of t hehi gher Emer gency cont r ol on t he br oad l i nes of par agr aph 2( e)above, so as t o ensur e t he maxi mum l i ai son bet ween t he m l i t ar yand t he ci vi l aut hor i t i es i n what i s af t er al l di f f i c ul t cor nbi ned oper at i on agai nst an i mpal pabl e and numer ous enemy, andpr oposa l s ar e t he r es ul t of di scuss i on bet ween Er sk i ne and me.I4.0 I doubt , however , whet her det ent i on of as many as100,000 Ki kuyu. i s f eas i bl e or woul d pr oduce good r esul t s andcoul d not agr ee t o i ndi s cr i m nat e expul s i on and det ent i on efal l Ki kuyu, Mer u and Embu f r om Nai r obi ( par agr aph ( b) ( i )above) . La t t e r may have some i mmedi at e sect i r i t y advant agesbut woul d, i n my opi ni on, pr ej udi c e any f ut ur e s ol ut i on f ort he Nai r obi - bas ed l oyal i s t s ( as i n t he reserves) and woul ds er i ous l y di s r upt s er vi c es and t he ec onom c l i f e of t he ci t y.


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5. I n shor t , I am sur e the Commander - i n- Chi ef i s r i ght i nt hi nki ng t hat we can not br i ng t he Emer gency t o an end wi t houtdet ai ni ng a l ar ge number of hel per s as di s t i nct f r om manager sof Mau Mau; and act i on i n Nai r obi i s par t i cul ar l y ur gent . But( l ) we shoul d not hi t out bl i ndl y by det ai ni ng al l i n gi ven ar ea. Thi s has been t r i ed i n t he pas t i n Leshau War d af t er t he Mei kl ej ohn mur der and i t pr oduced no r esul t . But a sel ect i ve measur es based poss i bl y on

( a) i nf or mat i on f r om headmen i n Na i r obi as t o who ar e hel per s of Mau Mau and ( b) f ur t her i nf or mat i on now bei ng compi l ed as t o who i n Nai r obi ar e not i n

genui ne empl oyment i s r equi r ed. (2) I f number s become ver y gr eat we wi l l be unabl e t ocont r ol what goes on i n t he camps, and r ehabi l i t a t i on ef f or t s wi l l be swamped because t he campswi l l become br eedi ng gr ounds of a r evi ved Mar. Maumovement . I t her ef or e consi der t hat t o put100,000 Ki kuyu i n camps woul d do mor e har m t hangood. But a phased movement wi t h a t op l i m t , atpr esent , of 50,000 on i t , i s I t hi nk i nes capabl e.I n Nai r obi t he men f ar ' exceed i n number s t hewomen and chi l dr en who, I am assur ed by t hePr ov i nc i al Comm ss i oner of t he Cent r al Pr ovi ncecoul d r et ur n to t he r eser ves .

6 To enabl e me t o t ake act i on qui ckl y on t he l i nessuggest ed i n t hi s t el egr am I shoul d be gl ad t o know whet her you woul d agr ee t o t he br oadeni ng of t he basi s f or det ent i on t o cover ( a) t hose who ar e unempl oyed and have no pl ace t o whi ch t hey coul d saf el y be sent i n t he r eser ves , and who const i t ut e t her ef or e a t hr eat t o t he

mai nt enance of publ i c or der . Thi s woul d be par t i c ul ar l y di r ec t ed agai ns t Ki k uyu l oaf er s and spi vs i n Nai r obi who ar e known t o suppor t t he Mau Mau or t o f or m most of t he Ci t y ! s c r i m nal el ement 0 ( b) t hose suspect ed of suppor t i ng t he Mau Mau. Atpr esent as you know, i t has been t he po l i cy t oconf i ne t he Gover nor Ts Det ent i on Or der s t ot hose agai ns t whom t her e i s i nf or mat i on f r omat l eas t t wo r el i abl e sour ces t hat t hey ar emanager s of Mau Mau, and onl y t ot al of 1;.00 odd

have been so det ai ned. I and my advi ser s f eelt hi s no l onger meet s t he s i t uat i on and that i nor der t o demonst r at e t hat t he Gover nment mustbe suppor t ed, and t hat over t or cover t suppor tof t he Mau Mau wi l l no l onger be t ol er at ed, al lsuspect ed or pot ent i al t r oubl e- maker s shoul d bedet ai ned, and pr evi ous hi gh and l i m t i ngqual i f i cat i ons f or a Gover nor ' s Det ent i on Or derbe l ower ed I under st and t hi s has been pol i cy i nMal aya, combi ned wi t h r ehabi l i t at i on measur eswhi ch we ar e i nt r oduci ng her e; and bot hGommander - i n- Chi ef and I cons i der s i t uat i on i nKenya now r equi r es s i m l ar act i on.


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7. I shoul d al so l i ke your agr eement t o per sons sodet ai ned bei ng r equi r ed t o wor k, by t hei r det ent i on campsbei ng desi gnat ed Speci al Det ent i on Gamps under Rul e 22 ofEmer gency ( Det ai ned Per sons) Regul at i ons 1953 ( Gover nmentNot i ce No .h729 of 1953). Thi s I cons i der t o be essent i ali f t he l ar ger number i t i s now pr oposed t o det ai n ar e t o ber ehabi l i t at ed i n any way. Exper i ence at exi s t i ng At hi Ri verand Manda det ent i on camps has shown t hat wi t hout wor kr ehabi l i t at i on cannot even begi n,8. L as t l y , wi t h t he pos s i bi l i t y of det ai ni ng as many as50 ?000 men - women and chi l dr en woul d be r et ur ned t o t hei rr el at i ves i n t he r es er ves - i t wi l l be nec es s ar y f or me t odel egat e my power s under Emer gency Regul at i on No. 2 ofEmer gency Regul at i ons 1952 ( Gover nment Not i ce No. 1103 of1952) and I shoul d l i ke your agr eement t o t hi s al so .9o I under st and as r egar ds par agr aph 2( e) ( i i i ) above -Emer gency Secr et ar i at - t hat Secr et ar y of St at e f or War ,when her e, sai d he coul d pr ov i de sui t abl e per son f ori mpor t ant post of Head of t he Secr et ar i at . Such anappoi nt ment f or t he next s i x mont hs or so wou. l d cer t ai nl ybe of gr eat ass i s t ance.10o Oommander - i n- Chi ef has seen t hi s t el egr am and poi nt edout t hat i f 2( b) ( i i ) ( i 0e . s el ec t i ve r emoval f r om Nai r obi )i s adopt ed, i t wi l l have to be appl i ed on l ar ge scal e andt her e wi l l pr obabl y be cons i der abl e d i s r upt i on of nor mall i f e of t he Ci t y. On t he quest i on of number s t o be det ai ned,Oommander - i n- Chi ef has poi nt ed out t hat we ar e under obl i gat i on to accept 8,000-10,000 f r om out si de Kenya and have af ur t her 12,000 t o move t o t he set t l ed ar eas and ar eas ofot her t r i bes ' i n Kenya. I t i s hi s bel i ef t hat we s houl dpl an f or 100,000.11. I r egr et put t i ng t o you maj or changes i n emer gencypol i cy at such shor t not i ce and hav i ng t o ask f or an ear l yr epl y but I am s at i s f i ed t hat t he exi s t i ng si t uat i on r equi r esr api d changes of pol i cy and new met hods.


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2(o .

TELEGRAM HQ.136 DATED 5TH FEBRUA RY , 195UFROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIESTO THE GOVERNOR OF KENYAY our tel egr am N o D72.Emergency Pol icy,,On gen er al p o l i c y and o r ga ni sat i on I am not y et readyto gi v e you my c o n s i der ed v i ew s bu t i n the meanti me I am

sendi ng t h i s r ep l y to your i mmedi ate request, ,2 0 Y our parag raph 6I have no ob j ec ti o n to your br oad eni ng b as i s f ordet ent i on w i th i n your pr esent l eg al powers to the ex tentyou deem ne c es sar y pr ov i ded t h at powers ar e ex er c i se dagai ns t i nd i v i du al s on grounds (however s l ender ) con nectedw i th Mau Mau and no t ag ai ns t c at eg o r i es of per so ns . I a l sopresume i t i s no t your i n te n t i o n to dep r i v e any suchper son s of th e i r r i g h t to obj ect to an A dvi sory C ommi ttee.Y our paragraph jI agr ee t o t h i s pr op os al but si nc e we sh al l be i ntec hn i c a l br each of the F or ced L abour C onvent i on i t wi l 3be nec essar y f o r me to c o ns ul t my c ol l eagu es bef or e gi v i ngy ou a u t h o r i t y . I c o n s i de r i t i mpo r tan t f i r s t l y t h a t i nt h i s co nn ect i on pu bl i c emphasi s sho ul d be l a i d on ther eh ab i l i t a t i o n ch aract er of the camps which shou l d I th i nkbe des i gn ated " R eh ab i l i ta t i o n Camps" , and secondl y th atthe gr eat es t car e i s taken i n se l ec t i ng s t a f f f o r thesecamps so as to av oi d any untow ard, i n c i d en t s whi ch mi ghtbr i ng them i n t o the l i me l i gh t .Y our paragr aph 8I presume i t i s your i n te n t i o n to del egate y ourpowers to P r o v i n c i al C ommissi oners and I shou l d see noob j ec t i on to th i s p rov i ded c l ea r i ns t r uc t i on s were i s su edon th e way i n whi ch they ar e to be ex er c i s ed . Y ou w i l l .:no doubt i n c r eas e th e number of you r A dv i so ry C ommitteesto ens ur e t h at ob j ec ti o n s can be he ar d w i th o ut too muchdel ay o

3* I s h al l be v er y read y to examine any f u r t h er measureyou may c o n si der acc es sar y when I v i s i t you as I hope to dotow ards th e end of t h i s mont h.

Documents

CAB/129/65 8 February 1954, Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies; detention of supporters of Mau Mau