Malnutrition, poor housing and disease: the woes of Tanganyika migrant laborers during the construction of the Uasin gishu railway 1922-1923.
Abstract
As scholars get interested in human rights violations during colonial rule in Kenya especially during
the Mau Mau struggle for independence, other colonial scandals of lesser magnitude remain
unearthed as this article demonstrates. The manner in which the colonial governments constructed
the public works and railways in particular has not received adequate scrutiny by historians. The
construction of railways required mobilization of tens of thousands of labourers who more often than
not worked under appalling conditions. This article examines how labor was procured and treated
during the construction of the Uasin Gishu Railway in Kenya where hundreds of workers died due to
poor housing, diet and disease. Specifically, the article examines why the Uasin Gishu railway was
the only Kenyan project in 1920s to import labor, in this case from Tanganyika Territory and South
Africa. Second, labor mismanagement led to a high death rate among the workers, and this
necessitated a probe by both Tanganyikan and Kenyan authorities. Incidentally, the colonial Kenyan
officials employed various means to cover up the problems experienced by both Tanganyikan and
Kenyan laborers during the construction of the railway. Relying heavily on archival sources never
used before, this article exposes the weaknesses embodied in trusteeship and mandated territories
doctrine. Africans whether from Mandated or a colony were treated the same by British
administration.