How Kanu-Kadu wars made Kenya become a monarchy

The third Lancaster Conference paved the way for Kenya to become independent as a monarchy on December 12, 1963.

But unknown to many, it was the new self-government formed by Kanu on June 1, 1963 that made the proposal for Queen Elizabeth II to become the Head of State out of certain political fears.

Documents from the former colonial office not only capture the proposal but also give behind-the-scenes intrigues into the formation of the Republic of Kenya.

A memorandum which was later presented by the Kenyan side to their British counterparts at the third Lancaster Conference read: “The Kenya Government proposes that Kenya should become an independent state as a constitutional monarchy with her Majesty the queen as the Queen of Kenya and that her majesty should be represented in Kenya by a Governor-General to be appointed by her Majesty on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Kenya”.

A SURPRISE

This caught the British by surprise, with the Kenya's Governor Sir Malcolm MacDonald wondering: “I do not know what their motives are in desiring to maintain the monarchy after independence and how long they expect to maintain it”.

Senior British officials, among them the British Secretary of State for Colonies Duncan Sandys, were also sceptical.

Sandy made it clear that he could not support the proposal. They viewed this as intended for political convenience.

Their argument was that “it was derogatory to the Queen to use the monarchy as a stop-gap arrangement” and that no “new government should be allowed to think that they can use or discard the Queen as and when it suits them”.

A REPUBLIC

Unlike the ruling party Kanu, the opposition Kadu under its leader Ronald Ngala wanted the country to become a republic on attaining independence under a president to be elected by members of both Houses of Parliament.

They were prepared to consider a constitutional monarchy only if the Governor-General was chosen the same way as the President and not appointed by the queen.

It was left upon Governor MacDonald to convince Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta that unless the queen was going to be retained as Head of State for a long time, Kenya was better off entering independence as a republic with a president and not as a monarchy. The opposition was also to be convinced to drop demands on the method of appointing the Governor-General in case Kenya became a monarchy.

On September 7, 1963, Governor MacDonald held a meeting with Kenyatta at Government House.

PROPER WAY

He started by reminding the Kenyan leader that Britain would support the proposal if only the monarchy was going to be maintained in a proper way for a long time and not for brief political convenience.

Mzee Kenyatta said that on June 1, 1963, after being sworn in as Prime Minister, he held a meeting with all the new ministers during which they discussed about Kenya becoming a republic on the day of independence. But some difficulties arose when they learnt that certain political elements would oppose the appointment of the president.

“Kanu ministers became uneasy at this point and decided to support a monarchy,” he said.

When Governor MacDonald asked him whether he knew how long the queen would be retained, he answered candidly that he did not know.

He also had certain issues to raise with the Governor, key among them was the use of three words “The Queen’s Dominions”, which was the official description of the independent monarchies in the Commonwealth.

ALTER WORDS

Mzee Kenyatta requested for the words to be altered because he feared “they would be used as a stick to beat the Kenya Government”, with some people misrepresenting them to mean that the whole land and the people of Kenya were still part of the “British Queen’s possessions”.

Before Mzee Kenyatta left, he reassured Governor McDonald of the confidentiality of the conversation.

The next meeting was between Ngala, the opposition leader, and the Governor on November 3, 1963. Governor McDonald urged Ngala to persuade Kadu to withdraw their conditions that the Governor-General should be elected by both Houses just like the president were Kenya to be a monarchy. A follow-up meeting was convened on November 7, 1963 – this time between the Governor and the two leaders, who promised not to disclose details of the discussions.

TO DISCUSS

The following day, as they had agreed, the Governor tried to get hold of Ngala to discuss Kadu’s demands to no avail.

On November 9, 1963, Ngala telephoned the Governor saying he had talked with his colleagues they were in support of the monarchy and the method of appointment of the Governor-General.

Kenya entered independence as a monarchy on December 12, 1963 with Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State, Sir Malcolm McDonald as the Governor-General and Jomo Kenyatta as the Prime Minister. On December 12, 1964 the Republic of Kenya was formed with President Kenyatta taking over.