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

what Dawe and others at the CO recognized as an important goal of any decolonization policy: that British interests in the former dependency be protected and a ruling class friendly to Britain should inherit the post-independence political structure. Despite some doubts expressed by Cranborne and Macmillan, Dawe gave the conference a sketch of the scheme he proposed. It was to be the white highlands of Kenya, with a guaranteed outlet to the sea, that would be granted self-government rather than the whole of Kenya or East Africa. The SofS then asked Dawe to put his views in the form of a memorandum for further discussion that Cranborne could, if necessary, present to the cabinet.¹⁰

Dawe put considerable effort into producing his plan, perhaps because he was aware of doubts and opposition within the CO. He completed it in July and titled the scheme A Federal Solution for East Africa. He began his lengthy memo by making the case for planned decolonization during the war. Forces unleashed as a result of the conflict were gathering velocity; the postwar period was likely also to bring changes to Africa far greater than any experienced in the past. In British colonies, there would be an increasing urge for self-government. The forces pushing for it, he maintained, “are not likely to be contained for long by any policy of material development and social welfare directed from London.” Colonial peoples would not accept improved education and health services “as a substitute for the freedom to develop according to their own political consciousness.” Dawe went on to raise another fundamental issue of decolonization policy. He asserted, “The problem before the British Government, therefore, is to find a method by which these inexorable African forces can be reconciled with future British interests. How are we to bind these people to us in such a way that their moral and material sources of strength will continue to be ranged on the side of Great Britain?”¹¹

Dawe did not immediately answer this question but turned to what he called the political problem. This was that as a result of the war, Britain was likely to be in a much weaker position in trying to “resolve the conflict of forces between the settlers and the advocates in Great Britain of a pro-native policy.” As a result, Dawe argued that Britain would not