Colonial Legacy in Kenya: A bane of Underdevelopment

Introduction
The worst psychological impact of colonialism was the imposition of a false feeling of inferiority in the african mind. The practise of political opression, economic exploitation, social humiliation and racial discrimination only served to entrench these misplaced feeling thereby leading to psychological underdevelopment in Africa.

Government

Before the coming of the Europeans, most of the East African communities had a decentralized system of governance with the exception of the Baganda who had Kingdoms headed by Kabakas, Nyamwezi who had Chiefdoms headed by chiefs called Ntemis and the Luyhia of Wanga who had Kingdoms headed by Nabongo. Other communities had councils of elders with some headed by strong spiritual leaders such as Oloiboni (Maasai) and Orkoiyot (Nandi).

However, with the coming of the Europeans, there was introduction of new uniform mode of administrative organs among all the communities. Organs such as the Legislative Council (LegCo), Judiciary and Executive were established. In Kenya, LegCo was established in 1907. The first chairman of the LegCo was Lord Dalamare. However, Africans were not included in the LegCo until 1944 when Eliud Wambu Mathu was appointed to represent Africans to the house that made laws. Asians were first represented to the LegCo in 1919 by an Asian called A.M Jeevanjee.

On 28^th March, 1934, elections to the LegCo were held in Kenya Colony. Four candidates were returned unopposed in the eleven White constituencies, whilst the remaining seven constituencies were contested by 18 candidates. For the five Indian seats, there were 17 candidates. Voter turnout in the White seats was the highest since elections were introduced. The Council convened for the first time after the election on 24 April. Of the seventeen elected seats, eleven were for Whites, five for Indians and one for Arabs. Around 6,000-7,000 Whites were registered to vote in the eleven constituencies of Nairobi North, Nairobi South, Mombasa, Coast, Kiambu, Ukambani, Aberdares, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, Nyanza and Rift Valley. This electoral mode was embraced by the East African states even after independence. Also the Parliament, Judiciary and Executive are the main organs of government up to date.

Religion

Christianity is the dominant religion in East Africa. The religion was initially introduced to East African Coast by the Portuguese in the 15^th Century but the contact ended in the 17^th Century. It was strengthened by the coming of missionaries. Such missionaries include Johann Ludwig Krapf who was a German. Krapf moved to the higher grounds of Rabai on the coastal hills and started his station New Rabai. Here he wrote the first dictionary and grammar of the Swahili language. He also started studying other African languages, drafting dictionaries and translating sections of the Bible. Working with a Muslim judge named Ali bin Modehin, he translated Genesis. He went on to translate the New Testament, as well as the Book of Common Prayer.

However, most of this was unpublished, though it was later used in revising a translation in a more southern version of Swahili. Krapf was later joined by Johann Rebmann,a German also in 1846.This missions impacted greatly to the African faiths. For instance, in Kenya today, more than two-thirds of the people are Christian, primarily attending Protestant or Roman Catholic churches.

Other religions that were introduced by foreigners include the Islamic religion introduced by the Arabs. The religion dominates the East African Coast of Kenya and Tanzania. The religions have shaped the social, economic and political activities among their people. Today, religion has a greater role in uniting people who are sharply divided by the negative ethnicity.

Urbanization

Prior to the coming of the Europeans to the East Africa, there was the Swahili Angli Moslemic culture along the Coastal region of East Africa. Important cities during this time included: Malindi, Gedi, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Kilwa and Pemba. The cities were governed by the Sharia Law. Technological developments in these cities included coin minting, copper works, building craftsmanship, boat building, and cotton textile. External trade was very active and important with Asia and Arabia.

During colonialism, urbanization occurred fairly rapidly in East Africa. Urban living resulted in changes in economic activities and occupation, and in changes in the way people lived. These changes often challenged existing values, beliefs, and social practices.

Such towns that emerged during colonial era include: Nairobi, Machakos, Kisumu, Nakuru, Kampala, Dodoma, Dar es Salam among others.

Demerits of colonial governance

Despite all the merits named above, colonial mode of governance did not please majority of the Africans and Asians. There were four different forms of colonial rule practiced in East Africa: Company, Direct, Indirect, and Settler. The practice of governing was somewhat different depending on the form of colonialism. In spite of these differences, all colonial governments shared certain attributes. These include:

1. Colonial political systems were un-democratic.
No matter what form colonial rule took, all colonial systems were un-democratic. Colonial governments did not allow popular participation. Decisions and policies were made with little or no input from the African peoples. Even in the case where decisions or policies may have benefited some people, they were still un-democratic since there were no mechanisms for the people to officially express their opinions.

2. Law and Order ("Peace") was a primary objective of colonial governments.
Colonial rule was most often imposed without consent from the African people. Understandably, people were not happy with being governed without any representation, and colonial governments faced the potential of civil disobedience or outright resistance to their rule. Consequently, the maintenance of "peace" and law and order was a top priority of colonial governments. As a result, in East African colonies, more money was spent on developing and maintaining a police force and an army than was spent on education, housing, and health-care combined!

3. Colonial governments lacked capacity.
Most colonial governments were not rich. The European colonial powers were not willing to fund the governing of their colonies in E.Africa fully. Each colony was responsible for raising most of the revenue (money) needed to fund the operations of colonial rule. No matter how rich in resources a colony was, the government lacked the income and revenue necessary to develop a government system able to go beyond maintaining law and order. This meant that colonial governments were not able to provide basic infrastructure, such as roads and communication networks, nor were they able to provide basic social services such as education, health care, and housing.

4. Colonial governments practiced "divide and rule." Given the lack of capacity and the strong emphasis on law and order, all forms of colonial rule engaged in
"divide and rule," by implementing policies that intentionally weakened indigenous power networks and institutions. This method explains how post-colonial ethnic conflicts in many parts of East Africa especially Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi have their roots in colonial policy of separating language, religious, and ethnic groups, and how these policies often created or exacerbated group differences.

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