The Forty Group was a Kenyan society or organization of the mid-twentieth century constituted primarily of members of the
Kenya African Union
The Kenya African Union (KAU) was a political organization in colonial Kenya, formed in October 1944 prior to the appointment of the first African to sit in the Legislative Council. In 1960 it became the current Kenya African National Union (KAN ...
who joined with the aim of using violence to make their voice heard. The name is a translation of the
Gĩkũyũ
The Kikuyu (also ''Agĩkũyũ/Gĩkũyũ'') are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.
The ...
phrase Anake a 40, which means The Young Men of 40. The organization was also called Kiama kia 40 translating to The (political) party of 40. The number 40 is a reference to the year 1940, in which most of the group's core members were
drafted into the British Armed Forces.
The organization consisted mainly of men fresh from service in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
It was founded by
Mwangi Macharia and gradually evolved into part of the
Mau Mau rebellion
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the ...
of the 1950s.
Stanley Mathenge was one of the leaders of the Forty Group.
[Marshall S. Clough]
Mau Mau memoirs: history, memory, and politics
Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998.
References
External links
Mau Mau rebellion
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