Defeating Mau Mau by Louis Leakey

Author:Louis Leakey [Leakey, Louis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Anthropology, General
ISBN: 9781136530739
Google: wfv7AQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-11-05T04:54:33+00:00

VII

MAU MAU METHODS

Mau Mau could clearly not have done all that it has done in the way of resistance to the armed forces and impudent acts of murder in the heart of the towns and cities if its followers had not had fire-arms, in addition to swords and spears. It is certain that stockpiling of arms and ammunition for Mau Mau purposes must have started a good many years before the State of Emergency was declared and that is one of the reasons, among others, why, from the outset, Mau Mau tried to enlist into its membership as many domestic servants as possible. Most Europeans had a fire-arm of one sort or another, many had several—sporting rifles, shotguns, revolvers and pistols—while few kept a close check upon their ammunition or locked it up.

Once the idea of stockpiling in these things was born, it was relatively easy for domestic servants, who had joined Mau Mau, to steal one or two rounds at a time—only the theft of bigger quantities was likely to be noticed—and gradually help to build up the hidden stocks that were needed by the movement. Theft of weapons presented a more difficult problem, for such thefts would be noticed much more quickly, and if too many disappeared before Mau Mau plans were ready, it would have made the authorities very suspicious. Nevertheless, a good many were, in fact, stolen in the years prior to the Emergency, and by no means all these thefts seem to have been reported to the police.

As soon as Mau Mau was out in the open, the organised theft of arms was at once greatly accelerated and reached very serious proportions; so serious, in fact, that the Government had to impose new and very strict penalties for the loss of fire-arms and ammunition. But even these measures did not succeed in making owners sufficiently careful to cut down the supply. This year, therefore, in its attempt to close the door more firmly, Government has reviewed all fire-arm licences and very many weapons have been compulsorily called in and taken charge of by the authorities.

When Mau Mau found that it could not obtain all the fire-arms that it required by theft, an organisation was started, within the movement, for the manufacture of home-made guns. Very great ingenuity has been shown in this process, but most of the guns so made are not very lethal, unless at very close quarters, nor will the barrels stand up to the firing of more than a very limited number of rounds.

Many of the attacks on Kikuyu home-guard posts, and on police stations (like the famous raid on Naivasha), have had, as their main objective, simply and solely the purpose of obtaining arms and ammunition to replenish dwindling stocks.

Mau Mau set up a special organisation within the movement composed of ex-convicts and known criminals, who were promised help and also handsome rewards in return for their services. One of the principal objectives of this group was the theft of weapons and ammunition.

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