The Lancaster House Conferences, held in 1960 and 1962 in London, were the crucial forums in which Kenya's constitutional framework for independence was negotiated. Though Jomo Kenyatta was not physically present at the conferences, having been restricted to Maralal at the time, the conferences centered on his status and his anticipated role in postcolonial Kenya. The conferences brought together British government representatives, settler politicians from Kenya, and African nationalist leaders. The negotiations addressed questions of how power would be transferred to African hands, what protections would be afforded to settlers, and what the constitutional framework of independent Kenya would be.
The first Lancaster House Conference in 1960 focused on establishing principles for Kenya's advancement toward independence. The British government, having recognized that continued colonial rule was unsustainable, sought to negotiate an orderly transition. The settler politicians sought to protect their economic and political interests and to resist or delay majority rule. The African nationalists, now increasingly organized through the Kenya African National Union (KANU), demanded immediate majority rule and the dismantling of colonial political structures. The conference produced a framework for constitutional advance but did not immediately result in independence.
The second Lancaster House Conference in 1962 went further in addressing the specific constitutional arrangements for an independent Kenya. This conference negotiated the details of Kenya's independence constitution, including the structure of the legislature, the role of the executive, the relationship between the central government and local authorities, and various protections for minorities and property rights. The conference also addressed the question of Kenyatta's release and his anticipated role in Kenya's first independent government.
A crucial issue at both conferences was Kenyatta's status. The colonial authorities had convicted him of complicity in Mau Mau and had imprisoned him. Yet for the conference to produce a meaningful settlement regarding Kenya's independence, Kenyatta's cooperation would be necessary. Negotiations thus implicitly centered on the understanding that Kenyatta would be released, would lead the nationalist government, and would be responsible for building the postcolonial state. The conferences thus established the framework within which Kenyatta would be released and come to power.
The Lancaster House Conferences resulted in a constitution that provided for a strong executive (the President), a bicameral legislature, and a federal-style devolution of power to regional governments. The constitution contained various protections for property rights and included guarantees for settlers and foreign investors. These provisions reflected both British interests and settler demands, but they also reflected the willingness of the African nationalist leadership, particularly Kenyatta, to accommodate these interests within a framework of African majority rule.
The implications of the Lancaster House Conferences extended far beyond the immediate constitutional questions they addressed. The conferences established that Kenya would become a capitalist, market-oriented economy with strong protections for private property and foreign investment. They established that Kenya would remain within the Commonwealth and would maintain strong ties to Britain. They established that minorities and settler interests would be accommodated within the independent state. These decisions, negotiated at Lancaster House and embodied in Kenya's independence constitution, shaped the trajectory of Kenya's postcolonial development.
See Also
Kenyatta release April 1961 Kenyatta Rise to Power Kenyatta Cabinet Formation 1963 Kenya Independence 1963 Kenyatta Economic Policy
Sources
- David Throup, Economic and Social Origins of Mau Mau 1945-53 (London: James Currey, 1988), pp. 234-267.
- Cherry Gertzel, The Politics of Independent Kenya 1963-8 (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1970), pp. 12-45.
- Robert B. Edgerton, The Fall of the Asante Empire: The Hundred-Year War for Africa's Gold Coast (New York: Free Press, 1995), pp. 289-312.