Talk:Harry Thuku

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Harry Thuku article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Biography

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles

Africa: Kenya Top‑importance

	Africa portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Africa, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Africa on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.AfricaWikipedia:WikiProject AfricaTemplate:WikiProject AfricaAfrica articles
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.
	Kenya portal This article is supported by WikiProject Kenya (assessed as Top-importance).

Untitled[edit]

Cpsa,

I've edited some of your changes; what follows is explanation.

Pending deportation[edit]

Immediately before the shootings, a delegation of six men spoke to the colonial Secretary. He promised that Thuku would be fairly tried. Deportation was (and is) a punishment; if Thuku was to be deported, then the assurances were false. At any rate, the decision to exile Thuku without charge or trial seems to have been taken after the shootings. I have removed the reference to deportation.

Warnings were given[edit]

No warnings were given before the firing began, as was admitted at the inquest. [references].

What might seem rather remarkable here is that there is no evidence given that the askaris were ordered to fire on the crowd by their officers; but when it is
considered that the askaris were on duty for practically 18 hours continuously, that they were subjected to the taunts and jeers of the crowd the entire morning, and that the officer in charge of them was on the ground at the time the first shot was fired in a scuffle with one of the most aggressive ringleaders, it appears to me their
action is not to be wondered at or criticised^[1]

Observers inside the crowd noted that it was unusually orderly:

The crowd was mostly seated in groups and very orderly...^[2]

The Shooting[edit]

Most sources agree that the main agitation before the shooting came from several women in the crowd, who came within a few feet of the soldiers' bayonets.^[3] This does not constitute a lethal threat.

Further, your change gives the impression that only KAR troops were involved in the shooting. In fact, white civilians joined in: some of them, on the verandah of the Norfolk hotel, shot protesters in the back.^[4]

Casualties[edit]

I've been unable to track down the white paper you mention. The figure you quote seems to be identical to that given at the inquest. It is almost certainly a massive undercount. In any case, it is unclear that the colonial administration's count takes precdence over the estimates of (relatively) disinterested historians.

Reserve[edit]

The reference to Thuku returning to his own reserve is misleading, since 'Kikuyu' is, variously, the proper name of a town in Kiambu district, the proper name of the territory habitually occupied by the Agikuyu, and the proper name of the territory supposedly occupied by the Agikuyu. It would be more accurate to report that Thuku was allowed to return to Kiambu district.

Sections for the article[edit]

Hi there, From reading this talk page, it seems as though there are some very knowledgeable people contributing to this article about Harry Thuku. I haven't made any changes to the content of the article; however, I have made some changes to the page by creating sections for the article. As you will see, the changes I've made have involved identifying sections which outline his history as an activist, and the different phases of his activism. If you feel that there is a better way to reflect his achievements, please feel free to create alternative sections. I just created these ones as a starting point.Jihadcola (talk) 09:19, 6 May 2012 (UTC)Jihadcola[reply]

References[edit]

^ Testimony of BA Crean, Nairobi Resident Magistrate, pp. 17-18 in Kenya Colony and Protectorate. 1922. Papers Relating to Native Disturbances in Kenya, Cmd. 1961.
^ Reverend WJ Wright, at p. 51 of Carl Rosberg and John Nottingham (1966), The Myth of 'Mau Mau': nationalism in Kenya. New York: Praeger.
^ See pp 313-316 of Audrey Wipper (1989), "Kikuyu Women and the Harry Thuku Disturbances: Some Uniformities of Female Militancy", Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 59.3: 300-337.
^ See Lonsdale 2004 for white civilian involvement in the shootings, and Thuku 1970:33 for the claim that white civilians shot protesters in the back.

[1] Testimony of BA Crean, Nairobi Resident Magistrate, pp. 17-18 in Kenya Colony and Protectorate. 1922. Papers Relating to Native Disturbances in Kenya, Cmd. 1961.

[2] Reverend WJ Wright, at p. 51 of Carl Rosberg and John Nottingham (1966), The Myth of 'Mau Mau': nationalism in Kenya. New York: Praeger.

[3] See pp 313-316 of Audrey Wipper (1989), "Kikuyu Women and the Harry Thuku Disturbances: Some Uniformities of Female Militancy", Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 59.3: 300-337.

[4] See Lonsdale 2004 for white civilian involvement in the shootings, and Thuku 1970:33 for the claim that white civilians shot protesters in the back.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]