Indians in State Policing in Colonial Kenya, 1884-1963
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Date
2023-11
Authors
Enock, Nyakundi Mogire
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The rapid expansion in studies on security issues in the last fifty years reveals the growing need to understand the role of minorities in policing the state. In Kenya, despite the existence of considerable literature on minority representations in elected office and in the public bureaucracy, scholars have not systematically examined the role of Indians in security agencies in Kenya. It is against this background that this study sought to examine the history of the Indian involvement in State Policing in Kenya, 1884-1963. The specific objectives of the study were: to trace the emergence and early involvement of Indians in state policing in Kenya between1884- 1894; to examine the role of Indians in state policing in Kenya during the early colonial period 1895-1918, to examine the Indian involvement in state policing during the interwar and World II War period 1919 to 1944 and to analyse Indian involvement in state policing in Kenya during the decolonization period, 1945-1963. The study was conducted in Kenya, covering the period from 1884 to 1963. The period yielded important information as it covered the dynamics of Indian involvement in policing the Kenyan state during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. The study is significant because it will help in providing important data on how the colonial government used Indians in policing the Kenyan state. The study utilized both crucial elements of securitization and features of the theory of the modern state in an integrated theoretical approach. Methodologically, the study employed an elaborate scheme of oral interviews, archival investigation and library research to collect data. The data collected has been subjected to the securitization and modernization theoretical perspectives. The study has demonstrated that State policing existed in various societies in different historical contexts and geographies. The Imperial British East African Company played a big role in the establishment of state policing in Kenya. The company recruited security personnel from India to protect its businesses, marking the beginning of Indian policing in Kenya. The construction of the Kenya-Uganda railway further facilitated the growth of infant police forces inland which were manned by Indians. The study revealed that the Indians in colonial police played an important role in the establishment of colonial control in Kenya, protecting the economic interests of the colonizers, ending slavery and providing security services to missionary activities. Thus, the early colonial period in Kenya was characterised by a sustained effort to establish colonial control and the Indian police played a key role towards achieving this objective. The study further revealed that the Kenyan colonial police largely mirrored the widespread racial differences among police officers, and a racial hierarchy developed between the Europeans, Asians, and other local members of this colonial police force. These racial differences persisted even towards Kenya’s independence in 1963.The study concludes that Indians played an integral part in policing the colonial state in Kenya.
Description
A Thesis Submitted in the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) of Kenyatta University, November, 2023.
Keywords
Indians, State Policing, Colonial Kenya, 1884-1963