The Legislative Council of Kenya (LegCo) was the legislature of Kenya between 1907 and 1963. It was modelled on the

Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...

. It began as a nominated, exclusively European institution and evolved into an elected legislature with

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. It was succeeded by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in 1963.

Early years

On 26 October 1906 an Order in Council was issued in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

defining a new constitution for the

East Africa Protectorate East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was a British protectorate in the African Great Lakes, occupying roughly the same area as present-day Kenya, from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Cont ...

. The post of Commissioner was replaced with that of Governor and Executive and Legislative Councils, consisting of both official and unofficial members, were created.Ross W. McGregor (2012) ''Kenya from Within: A Short Political History'', Routledge The first Legislative Council met on 7 August 1907.Robert M. Maxon & Thomas P. Ofcansky (2014) ''Historical Dictionary of Kenya'', Rowman & Littlefield, p203 The meeting was attended by the Governor, Sir James Sadler, six officially appointed members – Henry Currie, Charles Bowring,

Charles William Hobley Charles William Hobley, CMG (b. Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, England in 1867; d. Oxted, Surrey on 31 March 1947) — known as C. W. Hobley — was a pioneering British Colonial administrator in Kenya. He served the Colonial Service in Kenya fr ...

, J. Montgomery, R.M. Coombe and Colonel J. Wilson – and two unofficial members, J.H. Wilson from

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

and

Lord Delamere Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere, ( ; 28 April 1870 – 13 November 1931), styled The Honourable from birth until 1887, was a British peer. He was one of the first and most influential British settlers in Kenya. Lord Delamere was the so ...

. The first Council consisted solely of persons of European descent. On 21 September 1909

Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee (1856– 2 May 1936) was an Indian-born Kenyan merchant, politician and philanthropist. He was amongst the first and most influential Indian settlers in Kenya, amassing significant wealth and becoming a leader of Kenya' ...

was appointed to the Council, becoming the first Asian and non-European member. Governor Sir Percy Girouard opposed his nomination, but he was overruled by the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

who were keen to appoint a representative for the Indian community. From 1911 the European settler community demanded the right to elect the unofficial members sitting in the Council, a request which was regularly denied by the

. In 1917 the nominated members of the Council resigned their seats in protest, only returning on the promise by the Colonial Office that they would take steps to introduce legislation at cessation of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Introduction of elections

The Legislative Council Ordinance, 1919 expanded the Council to seventeen official members, including eleven European members elected by European residents. European women were now eligible to become members for the first time. The first elections under this new system took place in 1920. The Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance of 1924 provided that there should be five members elected to represent the Indian community and one member to represent the Arab community. In the

1924 elections Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...

, Hamed Mohamed bin Issa became the first elected Arab member; however, the Indian community abstained from putting forward candidates in protest at not being given parity of seats with the European community. Reverend J.W. Arthur became the first official member nominated to represent the interests of the African community.History of the Parliament of Kenya
Parliament of Kenya A single Indian candidate,

Ahmad Hussein Malik Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

, participated in the 1927 elections and was duly returned unopposed. Following the elections, four Indians were also nominated as members. Indian seats were filled from the 1931 elections onwards. Eliud Mathu became the first African member when he was nominated by the Governor to represent the African community at the

1944 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1944. Asia * 1943–1944 Iranian legislative election Europe * 1944 Icelandic constitutional referendum * 1944 Irish general election * 1944 Swedish general election United Kingdom * 1944 Berwick-upon ...

. Benaiah Ohanga became the second African member in 1946.

Wider franchise

In 1951 legislation was enacted providing for the election of 14 Europeans, six Asians and one Arab member. In addition, six Africans and one Arab would be nominated. This would result in there being 28 non-government members and 26 government members. The first elections held under this system were held in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. The Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 introduced significant reforms. A Council of Ministers was created, with six official members from the Civil Service, two nominated members and six unofficial members all appointed by the Governor. The six unofficial members were appointed from elected members, three of which were European, two Asian, and one African. The first African minister was

Benaiah Ohang Benaiah (, "Yahweh builds up") is a common name in the Hebrew Bible. Etymology In the etymology of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana), which is a common Hebrew verb meaning "to build". The second part of ...

. The first elections under the new system were held in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. Elected representation was introduced for Africans, with

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

held to fill the eight seats the following year;

Bernard Mate Bernard Mate (1922 – 6 January 1994) was a Kenyan politician and one of the first group of Africans to be elected to the Legislative Council of Kenya (LegCo), the legislative arm of government in the British Colony of Kenya, representing ...

Ronald Ngala Ronald Gideon Ngala (1923–1972) was a Kenyan politician who was the leader of the Kenya African Democratic Union political party from its creation in 1960 until its dissolution in 1964. Early career Ngala was born in 1922 at Gotani in Gir ...

Tom Mboya Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (15August 19305July 1969) was a Kenyan trade unionist, educator, Pan-Africanist, author, independence activist, and statesman. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.Kenya Human Rights Commiss ...

Oginga Odinga Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (October 1911 – 20 January 1994) was a Kenyan politician who became a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence. He served as Kenya's first vice-president, and thereafter as opposition leader. Odinga ...

Masinde Muliro Henry Pius Masinde Muliro (June 30, 1922 – August 14, 1992) was a Kenyan politician from the Bukusu sub-tribe of the larger Abaluhya people of western Kenya. He was one of the central figures in the shaping of the political landscape in K ...

, Lawrence Oguda,

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the thi ...

and James Muimi became the first African elected members. In 1958, the Council was expanded again, this time under the Lennox-Boyd Constitution and now consisted of fourteen Africans, fourteen Europeans, three Asians and three Arabs. The Lennox-Boyd Constitution was amended following the first Lancaster House Conference in 1960, after which the Council of Ministers was limited to sixteen members, of which four were civil servants, four African, three European and one Asian. The 1961 elections were the first to have a majority of African seats; the 65-member Council had twelve appointed members, 33 general seats and 20 reserved seats for minority communities (ten for Europeans, eight for Indians and two for Arabs). Primary elections were held for the reserved seats by members of the respective communities, and candidates receiving at least 25% of the vote advanced to the main elections,Maxon & Ofcansky, p202 where all registered voters could vote for them. In 1962 the Lancaster Constitution stipulated that the Legislative Council was to be succeeded by a

bicameral parliament Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single ...

consisting of a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. The

1963 elections The following elections occurred in 1963. Africa * 1963 Algerian presidential election * 1963 Chadian parliamentary election * 1963 Moroccan parliamentary election * 1963 Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 1963 Senegalese general ele ...

were the first to the new legislature.

List of elections

1920 East Africa Protectorate general election General elections were held in East Africa Protectorate (modern Kenya) in March and April 1920, the first elections in the country."Status Of British East Africa", ''The Times'', 12 February 1920, p13, Issue 42332 The Legislative Council of Kenya, ...

1924 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya Colony on 2 April 1924."Government Notice No. 94", ''Kenya Gazette'', 18 March 1924, pp6–8 The elections were the first under a new Constitution which saw suffrage extended to Indians in Kenya, Indians and Ar ...

* 1927 Kenyan general election * 1931 Kenyan general election * 1934 Kenyan general election * 1938 Kenyan general election *

1944 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya in September 1944. Campaign Nominations were required to be presented by 20 July 1944. Fewer candidates than expected ran in the elections, with only four of the eleven European seats contested."Kenya's Genera ...

1948 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya in May 1948. Electoral system The seats in the Legislative Council were distributed according to a race-based franchise. Eleven Europeans were elected from single-member constituencies defined as Part A; five ...

1952 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya in 1952. Electoral system The number of European seats in the Legislative Council was increased from 11 to 14, with two new constituencies in the countryside and one in western Nairobi."Elections In Kenya: I ...

1956–57 Kenyan general election General elections were held in Kenya between 25 September and 2 October 1956, with additional elections in March 1957 for eight African constituencies, the first in which Africans could be elected. The elections in 1956 were open to Europeans, In ...

* 1961 Kenyan general election

References

{{Kenya topics, state=collapsed Defunct unicameral legislatures Governance of the British Empire Government of Kenya Kenya Colony East Africa Protectorate 1907 establishments in the East Africa Protectorate 1963 disestablishments in Kenya 1963 disestablishments in the British Empire Government agencies established in 1907 Government agencies disestablished in 1963

Early years

Introduction of elections

Wider franchise

List of elections

See also

References