Books Histories Of The Hanged: The Dirty War In Kenya And The End Of Empire  by David Anderson (Author)

"Histories of the Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire" by David Anderson is a groundbreaking historical account that reveals the brutal reality of the British colonial "dirty war" against the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya from 1952 to 1960. Anderson uses over 800 court cases, newly uncovered archives, and eyewitness testimonies to challenge the prevailing image of the Mau Mau as terrorists. He portrays the Kikuyu rebels in a more nuanced light, exonerating them from the label of terrorists and instead showing them as freedom fighters resisting dispossession and colonial oppression.

The book details how British colonial authorities conducted widespread atrocities, including arbitrary killings, mass detentions, and the use of torture, with the knowledge and support of high-ranking British officials. It exposes the extreme legal abuses where thousands of Kenyans were imprisoned without trial, and hundreds were executed on dubious charges. The narrative situates the violence within the context of settler colonialism, economic displacement, and the push for Kenyan independence, emphasizing the complexity and moral ambiguity of the conflict.