Paper long abstract:

While the Mau Mau rebellion and its causes have attracted considerable scholarly attention and its importance to post-colonial Kenya frequently noted, few efforts have been made to discuss the legacies of the conflicts on local politics. Focused upon Nyeri district during the 1960s and early 1970s, this paper demonstrates the importance of the divide between former Mau Mau fighters and their loyalist adversaries for understanding political competition. Far from the past being hidden from public view, the contested histories of Mau Mau provided a prism through which later developments were understood.