|
|
Preface
This study of constitution making in the 1950s has its roots in an earlier interest in Kenya’s self-government and independence constitutions. In surveying the potential sources for such a study, I found that the Colonial Office (CO) records at the British National Archives (Public Records Office) contained a massive amount of data relating to constitutional issues. Besides this, most files had been little used by historians despite the fact that almost all had been open for research since the 1980s and 1990s. Emphasis on the British role stems not only from the reliance on British archival sources. The constitutions of 1954–1960 were largely designed by the CO and the leadership of the Kenya colonial state. All were imposed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies (SofS). The key role of Britain, as well as the continued significance of constitution making in contemporary Kenyan discourse, explains the title of the work and the topic. Since the early part of the 1990s, Kenya’s people and politicians alike have sought to bring into being a new constitutional order. That they have only been able to do so in 2010 enhances the importance of examining in detail the era of constitution