Jomo Kenyatta's relationship with Kenya's military reflected his need to build a security apparatus capable of defending the postcolonial state while ensuring that the military remained subordinate to civilian (presidential) control. Kenya inherited from the colonial period a small military establishment, the King's African Rifles (later renamed the Kenya Armed Forces), which had been subordinate to the colonial administration. Kenyatta's presidency required the development of a larger, more sophisticated military establishment, yet one that would remain under the President's control.
Kenyatta pursued policies designed to ensure military loyalty to the postcolonial state and to himself personally. He appointed military officers who were politically loyal and who understood that their positions depended on the President's favor. He also ensured that the military hierarchy remained Kikuyu-dominated, with senior military positions held primarily by Kikuyu officers. This ethnic dominance of the military hierarchy reinforced the broader pattern of Kikuyu dominance within the postcolonial state that characterized Kenyatta's presidency.
The military was deployed to suppress internal security threats, particularly in the aftermath of the Mau Mau rebellion and during the Shifta War with Somalia. The military was also used to maintain order and to suppress potential political opposition to Kenyatta's rule. Military officers understood their role not merely as defending Kenya against external threats but as defending the Kenyatta presidency and the postcolonial state system against internal challenges.
Kenyatta invested substantially in military modernization and the acquisition of military equipment. Kenya purchased military aircraft, vehicles, and weapons from Western suppliers, reflecting Kenya's alignment with the Western bloc during the Cold War. The military budget grew during Kenyatta's presidency, reflecting the government's commitment to building a capable security apparatus.
Kenyatta also established a special security force, the General Service Unit (GSU), which operated directly under presidential authority and which was deployed to maintain order and to suppress political opposition. The GSU became an instrument of internal repression, and its operations during Kenyatta's presidency were characterized by brutality and the violation of basic human rights. The GSU, together with the police and the military, formed a security apparatus that enabled Kenyatta to maintain political control.
The development of military institutions under Kenyatta established patterns that would characterize Kenya's postcolonial military throughout subsequent decades. The military remained subordinate to civilian authority, but it became an increasingly important instrument of state control and internal repression. The military's ethnic composition and its political role reflected broader patterns of political dominance and exclusion that characterized postcolonial Kenya.
See Also
Kenyatta Opposition Suppression Kenya-Somalia Shifta War Kenyatta Rise to Power Provincial Administration Kenyatta Era Kenyatta Intelligence and Security Services
Sources
- David Throup, Economic and Social Origins of Mau Mau 1945-53 (London: James Currey, 1988), pp. 267-295.
- Anthony Clayton, Military and Society in East Africa 1850-1964 (Dar es Salaam: Dar es Salaam University Press, 1990), pp. 189-215.
- Jeremy Murray-Brown, Kenyatta (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1972), pp. 280-320.