Britain and Kenya’s Constitutions, 1950–1960 By Robert Maxon

Moreover, in looking at constitutional development during these years, it becomes clear that democracy was less than an important priority for many of those involved. That was certainly the case as far as the British government and the colonial state were concerned. Imposed constitutions were also not likely to promote the consensus and compromise that characterize a functioning democratic system. This highly significant issue is dealt with in this study.¹ The rights of minorities and the means of sharing political power were also important concerns.

In examining these themes, this book makes clear the various factors that impacted the speed at which the process of decolonization and constitution making went forward. These included metropolitan, international, and East African factors, but the most significant were Kenyan. One theme not dealt with in this volume is federalism, more commonly referred to by the Swahili word majimbo in recent Kenyan constitutional discourse. A segment of Kenya’s European population espoused a federal constitution during the 1950s, but this had little impact on British policy toward constitution making. Given the huge impact and significance of federal and devolution schemes on Kenya’s constitutional history since 1961, the subject forms the focus of a separate study and will not be touched on much in this book.

This book is not the first to focus attention on Britain and Kenya’s constitutions during the 1950s. Several earlier published works touch on some of the themes examined here. The books of George Bennett, Sorobrea Bogonko and Keith Kyle provide some examples, but all were much more concerned with politics and political developments than constitution making.² The first two authors did not have access to the range of archival sources utilized for the current narrative, and although the former journalist Kyle’s treatment of the 1950s made extensive use of CO records, the attention to constitutional issues is less extensive than that paid to political ones. In contrast, several books published in Kenya during the first decade of this century make constitutionalism and constitution making a major focus.³ Written by lawyers and political scientists, the books (other than that authored by Onalo) provide scant,