Heritage

The massacre that made Maasai loyal to imperialists

masai

Maasai dancers entertain guests at a past event in Eldoret town. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Arab traders and early European explorers regarded the Maasai to be troublesome as they were vicious warriors who were always spoiling for a fight with other tribes and intruders.

They had dominated the hinterland for a long time. However, by 1890 they were a spent force. They had been broken by a series of natural disasters. Rinderpest, which had spread down from the Read Sea in 1889, had killed their cattle while smallpox and famine reduced their numbers drastically.

Reduced from their former position of power to one of internal conflict, poverty, disease and hunger, they were no longer a threat to intruders.

Maasai warriors were reduced to fairly regular raiding missions for survival and were responsible for the death of several mailmen of the Imperial British East African Company (IBEAC) who ran the route from the coast to the interior and back once a month.

Matters improved somewhat in February 1894 when several hundred Maasai came to Francis Hall at Fort Smith and requested to live near the fort for safety because they were being harassed by the Kilimanjaro Maasai. Mr Hall, seeing the many advantages for his position, agreed. By April, Mr Hall had enough authority over the Maasai to use them in retaliatory attacks against the Kikuyu.

In November 1895, a large caravan of 1,100 men of whom 105 were Swahili and the rest Agikuyu, carrying food supplies (sourced from Murang’a) left from Fort Smith destined for Eldama Ravine Station.

The caravan was dispatched by Mr Gilkison, the Officer-in-Charge. Such a caravan should, in normal circumstances, have been under the command of an European official, and one was actually available, but for some unknown reason it was placed under a Swahili headman who was far too young and inexperienced for the job.

Having delivered the food supplies at Eldama Ravine, the return journey was uneventful until the caravan reached Naivasha where a considerable number of both the Swahili and Agikuyu men began to be unruly. From Naivasha to Kijabe the caravan was accompanied by several Maasai elmoruo (elders) who did their utmost, not only to urge the headman and askaris to restrain their men from doing anything that would disturb or excite the Maasai, warning them that there was a large Moran’s manyatta close by and just ahead.

The Maasai elders hurried ahead and urged the Moran to remain quiet. The next morning half of the caravan passed the manyatta without incident. Unfortunately, the rest deliberately went out of their way to cause a disturbance by entering the manyatta and molesting the Moran’s enditos (girls).

As if to add insult to injury, one Swahili even attempted to drive away a cow. This infuriated the Moran and the Swahili was promptly speared to death. In retaliation, one Swahili shot the Moran dead.

What followed was a bloodbath. Out of 105 Swahili, 98 were killed. Thereafter, a merciless butchery ensued all the way to an open space at the foot of Mount Margaret on which was a small manyatta of elmoruo and kokos (elderly women). Here some 70-odd panic-stricken and exhausted Agikuyu stopped and pleaded for protection from the Moran who were now mad with bloodthirst and coming up from behind.

The old people tried all they could but were simply pushed aside by the Moran and within minutes the massacre was over. Altogether, 456 Agikuyu and 40 Maasai lay dead in this gruesome and horrible valley which could lay claim to being East Africa’s “Valley of Death” in December 1895.

At this very time Lenana, the Maasai Laibon (leader) was visiting Fort Smith but when news of the massacre reached the fort, Lenana was detained awaiting the arrival of Commissioner John Ainsworth.

Also, at Fort Smith, retu`rning from a hunting expedition in Kilimanjaro area, was Andrew Dick, a former Chief Accountant with IBEAC. When he heard of the massacre, he saw a favourable opportunity to annex a quantity of the best trade goods — cattle, as a reprisal on the Maasai.

He defied Mr Gilkison and bullied three Frenchmen to accompany him with a well-armed force down to the valley where they killed 100 Masai and rounded up hundreds of cattle. Mr Dick was killed in the skirmish when he was challenged by a Moran and his Colt repeating rifle failed him.

When John Ainsworth arrived at Fort Smith from Machakos a few days later, it was agreed, in the presence of Lenana, that the behaviour of the headmen and caravan as a whole was abominable, and the Moran were justified in reacting to the unwarranted provocation. It was also agreed that Mr Dick had no right to open fire on the Maasai and as a result they would not be punished.

They would, however, be required to hand over all arms and property stolen from the caravan. The cattle taken from them would be distributed among the families of the Agikuyu porters who were killed, as compensation.

The massacre at Kedong has been said to be the beginning of Lenana’s friendship and loyalty to the imperial government. In truth, he had no choice and he acted to save a once great but now desperately weakened tribe.