The Mau Mau Rebellion: Its Causes, Events, and Implications for the Liberation Movement in East Africa

Abstract:
   The subject of this article is about the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya; this revolt represents an honorable image of the struggle of Africans against the evils of colonialism, and the importance of this subject is highlighted from two aspects; the first is that it is related to a colony that suffered greatly from the woes of the colonizer, especially since both Kenya and South Africa were infected with the epidemic of European settlement; and thus the suffering of Africans in Kenya increased as a result of the white settlers looting their lands and properties with the support of the British colonial administration; the second aspect that shows the importance of this subject is that it is related to one of the British colonies, as these colonies extended throughout the continent, north, south, center, east, and west, and thus we are facing a mighty colonial power that followed many means that enabled it to exploit Africans and drain their wealth.
   Therefore; the Mau Mau Rebellion was not a revolution of the Kikuyu tribe as some claimed, but rather it was a comprehensive national revolution par excellence; All Kenyan tribes participated in it against colonial plunder, which makes it important to present the reasons for the revolution, which reveal the extent of the injustice that all Kenyans were subjected to, and then to address the events of the revolution, which prove the participation of Kenyans from most tribes in the revolution and its logistical and moral support. The Kenyans presented a purely African heroic epic using their simple tribal customs and traditions, and with a few primitive weapons and expertise, they were able to force the British colonizer to leave. In fact, the Mau Mau revolutionaries caused a lot of embarrassment to British colonialism in front of world public opinion at a time when the African national movement had reached its peak in most African colonies, and the departure of British colonialism from Africa became just a matter of time. That is why it was necessary to conclude this research by talking about the repercussions of the Mau Mau revolution on the liberation movement in East Africa.