Mobility, Confinement and the Politics of Exile: A Study of Manyani Detention Camp in Kenya, 1952 - 1963: A Historical Account

Abstract

Abstract: This paper examines the History of Manyani Detention Camp from 1952 to 1963. From 1952 onwards, the British government established detention camps where suspected Mau Mau fighters and their sympathizers were incarcerated. Manyani was started as a holding camp for “hard core” Mau Mau fighters. Manyani held Mau Mau fighters from 1952 to 1963. The colonial government preferred Manyani detention camp because of its harsh environment that was expected to exert maximum physical torture on the detainees so that they could plead guilty and assist in ending the Mau Mau uprising. The paper shows Manyani detention camps as an institution of political domination and control during the state Emergency in Kenya. The paper is a contribution to the historiography of prisons in Kenya. Keywords: Manyani Detainee, Detention, Torture.