The Fraud That Was The East Africa Protectorate

At the onset of European colonialism in East Africa, The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEA) and its predecessor sent agents to negotiate treaties with Africans, and these were used to assume political and administrative control.

There was no pattern as to the locations where they were gotten, neither was there any uniformity with regard to the content. With the exception of one, about 84 treaties related to East Africa were presented and approved by the British Government.

The IBEA was given a Royal Charter in 1888, and pursuant to the charter, sought to conclude treaties with Africans living in the supposed British sphere of influence.

According to Frederick Lugard, the company was “quite keen about this” and earnestly sought to have as many chiefs as possible sign them from day one.

It is interesting to note, however, that the very first treaty related to Kenya was signed between H H Johnston and the “chiefs of Taveta” in September of 1884, long before the IBEA was formed.

It is also unique because it was probably done at the initiative of Johnstone alone. This one became important in the negotiations of what later became the Kenya-Tanzania boundary.

After the treaties had been signed, they were afterwards registered at the British Consulate in Zanzibar. At a later date when the company collapsed, they were mailed over to the British Foreign Office.

Prior to 1887, the previous treaties were signed with various tribes and peoples along the coast.

Therefore, they were in Arabic, though an English translation was sent along for registration at Zanzibar attached to the original.

With very few exceptions, the substance of the treaties was minimal and also virtually identical; they began with the Africans giving up sovereignty: “The whole country is voluntarily placed under the rule and government of the said Association [BEAA], and I/we will hoist the flag of His Highness the Sultan of Zanzibar …” Towards the end, the African signers agreed to place their “peoples under the protection of the British East African Association”.

At the advent of the IBEA, the phraseology changed and the length increased a bit, but they were still essentially simple documents running far less than a single page.

One important development here was that the company apparently provided standard blank copies which its agents took to the field.

All that remained was for the signatories to sign and print their names in the appropriate fields.

Since most of the African signers could not read or write, an “X” usually sufficed for their signature. Curiously, a number of the treaties bear no marks whatsoever from the African parties.

Despite the availability of draft treaties, the IBEA was open to treaties which were custom-tailored to a particular set of circumstances.

Examples of these were those negotiated by Frederick Lugard. Another example was treaty number 93 with “Magogo, Chief of Wataita of Ndomi”.

This handwritten agreement was negotiated by George Wilson in 1894 during road construction and covered the purchase of land for a company station and other matters specific to the location.