Skip to main content
Menu
♥ Donate
eventREF E-0096628Revised

Event record

The longest state of emergency in Kenya ends

Date
10 Nov 1959
Updated
30 Sep 2019
The longest state of emergency in Kenya ends

The state of emergency in Kenya which had lasted from 1952-1959, probably the longest in the history of Kenya, came to an end. The state of emergency was declared by the governor of Kenya, Sir EvelynBaring, due to the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule and incarceration of thousands of Kenyans. This rebellion took place almost exclusively in the highlands of central Kenya among the Kikuyu tribe. Tens of thousands of Kikuyu died in the fighting and in  detention camps and restricted villages. 

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?
View more events from this day

How we know this

  1. 01Boddy-Evans, A. ‘This Day in African History: 13 November’, [online], available at https://africanhistory.about.com (accessed: 11 October 2013)
  2. 02Blair, D. (2013) ‘Analysis: Compensation may be right this time - but Mau Mau waged a brutal civil war’, from The Telegraph, 5 June, [online], available at www.telegraph.co.uk (accessed: 11 October 2013)
  3. 03Republic of Kenya, ‘A Brief History on Kenya’, [online], available at www.kenyarep-jp.com (accessed: 11 October 2013)
  4. 04Global Edge, ‘Kenya: History’, [online], available at https://globaledge.msu.edu (accessed: 11 October 2013)

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, November 7). The longest state of emergency in Kenya ends. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096628

South African History Online (2013) 'The longest state of emergency in Kenya ends', South African History Online, 7 November. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096628 (Accessed: 4 August 2026).

South African History Online, The longest state of emergency in Kenya ends [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096628, (accessed 4 August 2026).

"The longest state of emergency in Kenya ends." South African History Online, 7 Nov. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096628. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The longest state of emergency in Kenya ends." South African History Online. November 7, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096628.

Further reading

SAHO is free because readers fund it. Donate →