Thursday, December 12, 2013

Independence of Kenya at 50

Today 50 years ago Kenya received her independence. Kenya became a Commonwealth Realm, Her Britannic Majesty receiving the title of Queen of Kenya, a title which she unfortunately only retained for an entire year of 366 days.

Roger Whittaker sings My Land Is Kenya:


Post-colonial Africa has had its share of troubles. Its troubles with the democratic age have been more obvious than those of Europe and North America. Africa did not have as much time to evolve its democratic institutions and traditions, and Africa did not have those institutions and traditions of the West that – at least to begin with – had little or nothing to do with democracy. That being said, Kenya has gotten easier off – at least at some points – than some other countries. Rhodesia/Zimbabwe comes to mind. Kenya's southern neighbor, Tanzania, was for many years a full-fledged Marxist experiment.

The colonial flag of Kenya


Some previous posts: Kenyan Independence, The Muthaiga Country Club, Ascended into a Tree and onto the Throne
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 14, 2013 at 11:20 PM

    Africans are just killing themselves with these republics.

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  2. KeirJune 12, 2014 at 7:29 PM

    The Kenyan ensign still hangs in my classroom: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0LVI8HxO5S4/UovFylQubOI/AAAAAAAA_mo/U_-JYCMpOp4/s640/Screen+Shot+2013-11-19+at+9.06.08+PM.png

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  3. MaccaNovember 2, 2016 at 12:44 AM

    I think the biggest problem for Kenya was a bunch of invading Brits raping and pillaging her lands.

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  4. AnonymousApril 22, 2018 at 3:31 AM

    Fair enough Macca, though precolonial Kenya was probably not much better

    ReplyDelete