When Kenya achieved independence from British colonial rule on December 12, 1963, the Mijikenda peoples faced a new set of political and economic challenges. While independence promised self-determination and national development, the Mijikenda quickly found themselves marginalized in a nation dominated by upland ethnic groups, particularly the Kikuyu and Luo.
Political Marginalization
The dominant political movement at independence was KANU (Kenya African National Union), dominated by Kikuyu and Luo leadership. President Jomo Kenyatta, himself Kikuyu, established a government centered on upland interests and concerns. The coastal region, long marginal to colonial governance, remained marginal to post-colonial power. The Mijikenda, despite being the largest indigenous population on the coast, had limited representation in national leadership.
This political marginalization meant that coastal development priorities were set by the national government rather than by coastal communities. National planning, capital investment, and government attention were focused on the fertile highlands (Kikuyu areas), the Western region (Luo and Luhya), and the pastoral regions. The coast received limited national investment and was treated as a source of resources rather than as a priority for development.
The Coastal Land Question at Independence
The most consequential issue for the Mijikenda at independence was the coastal land question. During the British colonial period, vast stretches of the coast were designated as Crown Land, alienated from Mijikenda ownership. Arab and Swahili landlords held Title Deeds to much of the best agricultural and forest land. At independence, these property arrangements were not reversed.
The Kenyan government, unwilling to antagonize established landholders or Arab and Asian merchant communities, did not redistribute coastal land to Mijikenda communities. The result was that the Mijikenda at independence remained tenants on much of their ancestral land, or were entirely displaced, with no clear mechanism to recover land claims. This remained a source of grievance and political struggle for decades.
KANU and Coastal Politics
Some Mijikenda joined KANU and participated in early post-colonial politics. However, the coastal region increasingly felt excluded from national power. The opposition to Kenyatta's government tended to be stronger on the coast than in many other regions, creating a tradition of coastal political independence and opposition that persists today.
Early Post-Colonial Development
The early post-colonial years (1963-1970s) saw limited development investment on the coast. Tourism began to grow, particularly around Mombasa, Malindi, and the Diani beach area, but this tourism development benefited outsiders and Arab/Swahili/Asian landlords more than Mijikenda communities. Mjikenda were employed in tourism as workers (hotel staff, guides, boda boda drivers) but did not own tourism enterprises or reap major benefits.
Fishing remained important economically but declined due to overfishing and limited investment in fishing infrastructure. Agriculture continued but on an increasingly limited land base due to population pressure.
The Federal Question and Regional Autonomy
Some coastal communities, particularly among the Swahili and Arab-descended populations, began to raise questions about whether the coast should remain part of Kenya or should seek regional autonomy or even independence. These movements, particularly the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), gained some traction in the 1960s and 1970s, though they were suppressed by the Kenyatta government.
The Mijikenda, as the largest indigenous population on the coast, were sometimes recruited into these movements, sometimes as allied actors and sometimes as marginalized populations whose support was sought. However, Mijikenda positioning on the coastal autonomy question was often ambivalent: they were indigenous to the coast but also Bantu-speaking, distinguishing them from the Swahili/Arab-descended coastal elite.
See Also
- Mijikenda and Kenya Identity - Long-term national marginalization
- Mijikenda in Colonial Economy - Land loss during colonial period
- Ronald Ngala - Political leadership at independence
- Swahili Coast - Competing coastal political movements
- Mijikenda and Ruto Politics - Continuation of political marginalization
- The Giriama Uprising 1913-1914 - Pre-independence resistance tradition
Sources
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Wikipedia. "Kenya at Independence." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kenya
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Salim, A. I. (1973). "The Swahili-Speaking Peoples of Kenya's Coast, 1895-1965." University of Wisconsin Press.
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Lonsdale, John (1992). "Contested Terrain: Kenya's Constitutional Moment." The Politics of Postcolonial Kenya, edited by Catherine Lonsdale.