Hegemonic masculinities and post-war reconciliation in Kenya during and after the Mau Mau Uprising (1952–60)

This article examines how the reconstruction of masculinity shaped Kenya’s post-colonial reconciliation following the Mau Mau Uprising (1952–60). It argues that debates over male authority, rooted in local traditions and reshaped by colonialism, were central to the conflict and its aftermath. In the 1960s, the nationalist elite, led by Jomo Kenyatta, selectively integrated former fighters into a conservative, patriarchal vision of nationhood. Through organisations like the Kikuyu Welfare Association, ethnic unity and male authority were reasserted at the expense of redistributive alternatives. Kenya’s experience shows how hegemonic masculinities could underpin both reconciliation and the exclusionary foundations of post-colonial statehood.