Book contents
- A Man of the World
- African Studies Series
- A Man of the World
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Breaking Out
- 2 The Quiet Americans
- 3 The Great Dream of Their Lives
- 4 The Insects
- 5 Political Traffic
- 6 The Cultural Cold War
- 7 The End, 1967–1969
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- African Studies Series
1 - Breaking Out
Labour and the Emergency, 1952–1956
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 July 2026
Book contents
- A Man of the World
- African Studies Series
- A Man of the World
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Breaking Out
- 2 The Quiet Americans
- 3 The Great Dream of Their Lives
- 4 The Insects
- 5 Political Traffic
- 6 The Cultural Cold War
- 7 The End, 1967–1969
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- African Studies Series
Summary
Kenya’s labour movement was deeply embroiled in the Mau Mau rebellion against British rule and the colonial campaign against the insurgency between 1952 and 1956. Militant labour leaders were integral to the growth of the rebellion in Nairobi, but the colonial government sought to use the opportunity presented by the State of Emergency declared in October 1952 to bring the entire labour movement to heel. This created an opportunity for a young Tom Mboya, who became leader of the Kenya Federation of Registered Trade Unions, later renamed as the Kenya Federation of Labour. Mboya used the organisations links to the British Trades Union Congress and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions to campaign for the release of wrongly arrested moderate trade unionists, and to develop further opportunities for trade union training, including a scholarship for him to study in Oxford and his attendance at an ICFTU seminar in India. However, Mboya became frustrated with the limited appetite within the ICFTU or TUC to support the adoption by the KFL of an avowed anti-colonial stance, which in turn pushed him towards the United States.
Information
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- A Man of the WorldTom Mboya, the Cold War and Decolonization in Kenya, pp. 32 - 59Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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