CIA Reading Room cia-rdp79t00937a000200010029-9: THE SITUATION IN KENYA

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- Approved For Release 2000/08/29 : CIA-RDP79T00937A000200010029-9 -911.111 SECURITY INFOREATION . CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY OFFICE OF NATIONAL WILIAM STAFF NENORANDUit NOo 280 SUBJECT: The Situation in Kenya 28 October 1952 DOC14MNTNO 36 NO HANCE IN CLASS. 1:3 DECLASSIFIED CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS S C NEXT REVIEW DATE. AUTH: 19/1/50 10 The gravity of the current waviiie--sElifilesays is indicated by the dispatch to that Odom, of a British infantry battalion Weir frost Sues and a eraser from the Mediterranean fleet. This action suggestS that the colon:Ns own securitr forces .. the polies, British officered African troop units, and how guard or vigilante groups totalling some 2,000 whites .. may not be suf-ficient to cope with the spreading depredations of the nativellimi Mau secret society. 2* We first heard of the Mau Mau about four years ago but intelligence of its aims and tactics became available (almjent.lay to the British as well as the US) only very recently., when the movement initiated its campaign of terrorism. The Society's objectives are believed to be to drive the whites off the fertile Kenya highlands, and eventually out of Africa. Its tactics are terroriem oattle.maimings arson mutilation, and murder. Itsrites involve witchcraft, oaths, and curses; and its ability to enforce secrecy is remarkable. In composition the Mau Mau appears to be almost wholy drawn Dram the Kikuyu* one of the largest of the Kenya tribes, about 10000,000.strong0 The Mau Mau has a large field for expansion for the Kikuyu have spread.frau Kenya to Uganda and parts of Tang:nyika. There is a strong possibility that in all areas where the Kikuyu reside in numbers the Society, has cells which are propagating its ideas of power and plenty through terroriem* 30 Virtually no facts are available as to the size and leadership of the Mau Mau. Its size has been estimated as high as 2000000; more likely it is much smaller, but it obtains the co. operation of many non.members by intimidation. Though hundreds of arrests have been made, these appear to be 0114 of small fry and fanatics who refuse to give information or have none to give* It is probable that the stage has been reached at which the individual Kikuyu, aware of Mau Mee ruthlessness acainst dissidents and in's formers, considers it safer to be inside the Society when invited than to remain outside. Approved For Release 2000/0849~Miar79T00937A000200010029-9 v440,Approved For Release 2000/08/29 : CIA-RDP79T00937A000200010029-9 -G0E"01411441-4 6 necent tfau Mau depredations are raising racial tensions, undermining confidence between black and white, and thus putting Kenya's social structure in jeopardy, Maur Kikuyu are trusted domestic servants and farnahands for the whites. Many others work as clerks in every government department. Rep:arded as the most intelligent and adaptable natives in Bast Africa, the Kikuyu quickly mastered the Western techniques of mass meetings, (Isle-gationsi and petitions and the Briti