Reviews and Comments on Scram from Kenya!

I found Scram from Kenya both instructive and enjoyable, and without bias. Congratulations. You mention some of the Scottish churchmen I remember well. My father was either chairman or secretary of the Christian Council of Kenya at the time…. .
David Steel. (Lord Steel of Aikwood)

Congratulations on researching and recording a very comprehensive publication. I can certainly confirm many of the incidents and situations recorded. I was on 999 cars at Muthaiga when a young boy on his tricycle was murdered just behind the police station and then at two Police Posts at Keringet and Olonguruone. I must confess that I was unaware of the background of Olonguruone at that time.
Brian Plume. (Brian Plume served in Kenya during the period of the Mau Mau conflict. The "background of Olonguruone" to which he refers, is discussed in Scram From Kenya. It involved the illegal occupation of land in the 'Highlands' by Kikuyu settlers. He now lives on the Atherton tablelands, North Queensland, Australia, which he describes as being, climatically, in some respects similar to Kenya).

'How does one evaluate this book? …. I have to confess unqualified admiration for his spirited and unstinted endeavour to record the authentic voices of so many people who witnessed the unfolding of the drama leading up to the independence of Kenya but rather because the canvass is so widely spread there are bound to be some flaws in its technical presentation, but these do not diminish the intrinsic value of the product.

The research which has gone into this book is truly impressive. Surely only an inner sense of mission and conviction must have seen him through to a successful outcome, for which we can only express our gratitude and congratulations.

So what about the book? The text is spread over some 380 pages, including a short introduction in which we are told that the title of the book comes from a speech that Tom Mboya made in December 1958 at a Conference of All-African People (though where?) during which he warned … these colonial nations - your time is past, Africa must be free, scram from Africa! In writing it two aims had been uppermost in his mind: First, that people, all too frequently in conflict, should be at the centre of the story. Secondly, that all sides should be presented in a balanced account. It is fair to say that he has lived up to these ideals in 'Scram'. …..It is however difficult to summarise a book that ranges over a complete spectrum of disparate forces, policies and practices of the government and the human interaction that shaped a critical period of Kenya's history. There is just too much packed into it.

The causation, growth and demise of Mau Mau are covered in depth - including graphic details of those gruesome oath-taking ceremonies, the well-publicised raids on farms belonging to Europeans and the brutal murder of surprisingly small number of them, with the much greater casualties of the abuse and atrocities connected with the authorities' counter-insurgency measures - the detention, the screening, the beatings and the brouhaha surrounding the Hola Camp incident…... (He) gives a fascinating glimpse of the minutiae of the confrontations and manoeuvrings that were to become a standard feature of colonial political life; formation, dissolution and re-formation (or re-emergence in other guises) of parties, associations, groupings, cliques - whether formal and informal, open or closed, ad hoc or with some degree of permanence and whether legal or clandestine - at all levels and all through the period covered….. .'

He is however short on many details, something that a critic and commentator like me tends to notice more than perhaps an ordinary reader! The eponymous Devonshire Declaration of 1923 is scarcely mentioned and certainly not by name, while the dates of many significant events or episodes either not given ……or sink into the flow of the narrative.…. .

Let us be clear about one thing: the focus of the book is the transfer of power, from the British as the imperial overlords to the indigenous African majority. …. 'In this scenario the presence of the Asians - their historical role in the development of the region, the part they played in supporting, paradoxically, both the colonial state and the African cause. Even so, it is regrettable that the Asian phenomenon did not receive a closer examination… .

(The author) rounds off his book with an Epilogue containing a series of 'Questions, Hypotheses and Assessments' in which he considers such profound and controversial issues as "Was Jomo Kenyatta the manager of Mau Mau. (the author writes) "In the closing years of British rule in the country, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's message (to the European farmers) was "stay". He left them in no doubt that they would be welcomed, and he was as good as his word"'.

(The above are extracts from a longer review by RAMNIK SHAH on the Africana-Orientalia, posted on A/O forum in July 07. Ramnik Shah was born and brought up in Kenya, finished off his education in England and then practised as a lawyer in Kenya from 1964 to 1974 when he came back to the UK for permanent settlement here. He is now a retired solicitor, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a writer and commentator on current affairs.)

Scram from Kenya is, quite simply, the definitive study of the end of the colonial period in Kenya; and, as such, a microcosm of the end of the empire throughout the whole of the ex-British realm.

Franks has drawn from writings, recordings and interviews across the full spectrum of participants to present a detailed and balanced account of the political changes in Kenya in the two decades after the Second World War.

Although post-colonial political correctness tried to create African heroes and European villains, Franks shows us, through reports of the time, that as with all human endeavours no 'sides' had a monopoly of either good or bad. Most of the population, both black and white, carried on as before; hoping that violence would pass them by, and that they would be left to live in peace. Through Franks' research we can see that the differences were as great within the African and European groups as between them as everyone tried to cope with rapid change.

I strongly recommend Scram from Kenya to any student of political history, especially those like myself with a close interest in East Africa. It is balanced and factual, well written and easily readable, and should be required reading for anyone before they make judgments on colonial and post-colonial Africa.
Review, Charles Huxley, September 2005
(Charles Huxley's family connections with Kenya provide some of the strongest white settler-farmer strands. In 1913 his mother Elspeth settled as a child with her parents Josceline and Nellie Grant in Thika. After Jos died Nellie continued to farm in Kenya as a respected and influential member of the community until some years after Independence. Elspeth Huxley's authority as an expert writer on Kenya's history and development is unquestioned. Charles continues the family tradition.)

"During a visit (to Kenya) in 1989 (Franks) took up the suggestion of an African driver that he should write 'an objective and balanced account of the country's post-war years leading to independence'. I think he has succeeded rather well."
(review, Robert Oakeshott, The Spectator, 5 March 2005)

"Scram from Kenya! (is) researched with an academic thoroughness but written in a clear and lively style, this is a book which demands a place on the shelves of all students of imperialism and its aftermath in the African continent."
(review, African Business, February 2005)

"….essential reading for anyone interested in Kenya. ……. One of the most useful and constructive contributions to the subject matter for many years. ….he has made use of the many interviews he has conducted as well as bringing to our attention what has been recorded in other books written 30 to 50 years ago and long out of print."
(Chris Minter; from review in Rhino Link, journal of the King African Rifles and East African Forces Association).

"His aim is to seek to give a fair account of the actions of all the parties involved; Westminster and Whitehall, the Governor and his officials, the Kenya politicians, the settlers, the Mau Mau fighters (who saw themselves as fighters for land and freedom), and the Kikuyu loyalists (engaged in a civil war). This is truly a brave effort by Franks."
(review, Dr. T.H.R.Cashmore, [Colonial Administrative Service, Kenya 1953-62] The Overseas Pensioner, April 2005)

"Scram from Kenya! deals with the subject exhaustively and thoroughly. From an Asian perspective the coverage of the Asian Community in Kenya, in the period 1946-63, is both appropriate in scope and judicious; especially so since the author himself is not an Asian."
(Parmeet Singh, [Kenya born, civil servant, Director of Statistics in Kenya Government, subsequently serving in Commonwealth Secretariat and United Nations, retired])

"Being immersed in the work of local government 'up-country', it was often difficult to comprehend the broader picture of how the struggle against Mau Mau was being prosecuted on a day-to-day basis and, beyond that, what policies were being formulated for self-government and African advancement after the Emergency ended. As the result of reading James Franks' scholarly and meticulously researched 'Scram from Kenya!' , the whole picture has been laid out clearly before me after a long interval of time and for this I am grateful to the author. His even- handed approach to such an emotive subject is most refreshing.

The Nakuru Municipal Council employed a number of former detainees and, at independence, others were elected to serve on the council. I recall being surprised at their nonchalant attitudes towards Mau Mau in all its horror and their lack of fear of death at the hands of the Security Forces. They seemed to be able to mentally detach themselves from their grim past. Almost without exception they proved to be cooperative, hardworking and keen to make progress in the new Kenya.

Above all, James Franks' book has caused me to question further whether there was ever any justification for the European colonial powers to attempt to impose Western ideologies, religion, governmental systems, ethics and economies on the people of the African continent."
(Don Ruffell, formerly deputy Town Clerk, Nakuru Municipal Council, Rift Valley Province 1960-65 following service in Northern Rhodesia 1957-60).

"An enjoyable and enlightening read. James Franks has researched exhaustively and been at pains throughout to be fair, and the book reflects this. ….. the treatment and rehabilitaion of detainees in the Mwea camps, and the disaster at Hola, in both of which I was involved, induce vivid memories. The even-handed way in which these episodes are discussed, albeit not comprehensively in the case of Hola, contrast starkly and favourably with so many hostile absurdities advanced in other literature."
(John Cowan MBE, Kenya Prisons Service 1946 - 1965, retiring as Deputy Commissioner).

"We have many books on Kenya during the colonial era, more particularly during the brutal Mau Mau struggle. Most give a one-sided account of events during that bloody period. In Scram From Kenya, Franks has attempted to give the reader a more balanced picture from an independent perspective. For all students of history, interested in colonial and post-colonial history of Kenya, this book should be required reading."
(Mervyn Maciel, Kenya Administration 1947-66, author of Bwana Karani [Merlin Books, Braunton, UK 1985])

"Thanks for a view of the enclosed; (of Scram from Kenya!) It is perfectly well-balanced and interesting to people who know Kenya."
Bill Deedes, The Daily Telegraph, March 2001.

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