Resistance to British Colonization
Resistance to British Colonization: The Giriama people, also spelled Giryama, were among the most successful colonizing societies in 19th-century East Africa. Originating from a small area around the ritual center known as the Kaya, located inland from Mombasa, the Giriama expanded significantly during this period. By the late 1800s, their settlements stretched across much of the hinterland between Mombasa and Malindi, eventually crossing the Sabaki River in the 1890s. This expansion was driven by a combination of internal tensions over resource control and opportunities created by the growing coastal economy, which included access to servile labor—both male and female.
The northward expansion involved the continuous establishment of new homesteads by ambitious men seeking to accumulate dependents and assert control over them, free from interference by their kin or the elder-dominated “gerontocracy” tied to the kaya. These pioneers were further encouraged by their engagement with the coastal society, which itself was expanding northward due to trade in ivory, aromatics, and foodstuffs, along with the rise of slave-based agriculture.
In the early years of British colonial rule, this expansion continued, with colonial administrators forming alliances with the most successful accumulators within Giriama society to meet the limited demands of the nascent colonial state. However, by the second decade of the 20th century, British policies began to clash with the patterns of individual accumulation that had fueled the Giriama’s growth.
The abolition of slavery disrupted the supply of labor, while British officials at the coast sought to recruit Giriama workers for plantations and to support the growing needs of Mombasa. In response, the Native Labor Commission (1912–13) identified the Giriama as a key source of waged labor.
Arthur Champion, appointed as an administrator in October 1912, employed coercive tactics and taxation to increase the labor supply. His efforts, however, undermined the authority of Giriama elders, who relied on accumulating dependents rather than sending them away to work. Restrictions on the ivory trade added to their grievances.
Resistance grew under the leadership of a woman named Mekatilele (or Mekatilili), who drew upon traditional female prophecy to rally opposition against British rule. Many Giriama swore oaths of noncooperation, creating a boycott that led to the symbolic closure and eventual destruction of the kaya in 1913 and 1914.
British officials misinterpreted this resistance as being driven solely by oaths and prophecy, reflecting their bias toward viewing male household authority as stable and magical/prophetic power as subversive. In reality, the resistance stemmed from the devastating impact of British policies on the authority of ambitious household heads.
The situation escalated with World War I, as the British intensified conscription efforts, targeting Giriama men as porters for the military. A plan to evict those settled north of the Sabaki River further inflamed tensions, culminating in violence when one of Champion’s police officers raped a woman, leading to his death in retaliation.
Fearing a rebellion, British officials launched a brutal punitive campaign using two companies of the King’s African Rifles. Over 150 Giriama were killed, and hundreds of homes were destroyed. Without clear leaders to negotiate with, the campaign dragged on until January 1915. Despite no military fatalities, the aftermath saw increased police presence, forced clearance of trans-Sabaki settlers, collection of punitive fines, and recruitment of Giriama porters for the war effort.
After the conflict, Mekatilele returned in 1919 and resettled in the kaya alongside elder men. While the kaya remained a contested source of ritual power, the earlier gerontocratic structure was never fully restored, leaving political and ritual power diffuse among the Giriama. Although the trans-Sabaki region was resettled in the 1920s, the Giriama never regained the prosperity they enjoyed in the late 19th century.
Also Read: How Britain Stole Africa’s History
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