Controversial chiefs in colonial Kenya : the untold story of Senior Chief Waruhiu Wa Kung'u, 1890-1952 / Evanson N. Wamagatta.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wamagatta, Evanson N., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kung'u, Waruhiu wa, 1890-1952.

Kung'u, Waruhiu wa.

Colonial administrators--Kenya--Biography.

Colonial administrators.

Kikuyu (African people)--Biography.

Kikuyu (African people).

Kikuyu (African people)--Politics and government.

Chiefdoms--Kenya--Kiambu District.

Chiefdoms.

Kiambu District (Kenya)--Politics and government--20th century.

Kiambu District (Kenya).

Kenya--Politics and government--To 1963.

Kenya.

Politics and government.

Kenya--History--1895-1963.

History.

Kenya--Kiambu District.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 189 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham : Lexington Books, 2016.

Summary:

Controversial Chiefs in Colonial Kenya presents the untold story of Senior Chief Waruhiu wa Kung'u, one of colonial Kenya's most controversial chiefs. Throughout his thirty years of service to the colonial government, he was considered loyal, obedient, dependable, responsible, efficient, and a tower of strength. However, his name has gone down in history as that of a traitor who was assassinated because he sold his country to the British colonizers. Senior Chief Waruhiu's violent death dealt his reputation a devastating blow. Although Waruhiu believed that the Africans were not yet ready for self-government-and that they could not attain it through violence -this did not make him a traitor. However, this explains why he was considered a very pro-government and pro-European chief who was opposed to the aspirations of his people and why it was thought that he, as a result, deserved to be killed. Though it is believed that Waruhiu was killed by the Mau Mau, there is no evidence to support that claim. The prosecution was not interested in proving that the accused were members of the Mau Mau or that the murder was carried out by the Mau Man. Since the white settler community gamed a lot from Waruhiu's murder, it is very likely that some of its leaders, working together with some government officials, were behind his murder. That is why the mystery of who killed Waruhiu remains unsolved and the perpetrators of his murder may never be known. Book jacket.

Contents:

Early colonial chiefs in Kiambu district, 1902-1922

Waruhiu's early life, 1890-1916

Quest for power, 1917-1922

Relationship with the colonizers, 1922-1952

Relationship with the colonized, 1922-1952

Councilor of Kiambu Local Native Council, 1925-1952

Life behind the scenes, 1922-1952

Prelude to Waruhiu's murder, 1941-1952

Assassination of Senior Chief Waruhiu

Who killed Waruhiu and why?

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Wamagatta, Evanson N., author. Controversial chiefs in colonial Kenya.

ISBN:

9781498521475

1498521479

OCLC:

935495218