achieved and forged in Kenya, a few examples are explored that relate to death
and property offenses.
Colonial Justice Related to Death
Offenses in Kenya related to murder, manslaughter, and accidental deaths
were created primarily for the control of Africans and the protection of the settler
population. British structures of crime and punishment were culturally different in
treatment and more importantly were grounded and directed towards creating a
new social order of Africans under the control and interest of the British. In pre-
colonial Kenya, jails, prisons, detention camps, and even criminal activities as we
know them today did not exist. However, prisons and detention camps soared
after 1952 with the surge of African resistance primarily associated with Mau
Mau. British punishment for death-related crimes was associated with activities
that involved the body of the criminal, such as prison sentences, executions, and
work in detention camps. The punishment involved physically removing the
criminal or accused from society, and there is little or no mention of restoration
for the offender or the community. For example, on May 8, 1954 T.P. Kiilu
Kasioka was murdered by Mwanthi Ndolo, Mulva Mwinzu, and Kimali Mbua.30
The Supreme Court heard the case and sentenced these three individuals to
death.31 The reports did not mention any other forms of payment to the family of
the deceased or any purification ceremonies as a result of the offense. What is
30Kenya National Archives, Syracuse Collection, Annual Reports, 1954, Film 2801, Roll 7 Machakos
District, p. 28.
3i Kenya National Archives, Syracuse Collection, Annual Reports,1954, Film 2801, Roll 7 Machakos
District, p. 28.
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