In April 1950, Makhan Singh, a native of Punjab and a trade union leader fighting for the cause of Kenyan independence against the British, did something quite revolutionary. During a meeting in Nairobi between the Kenyan African National Union (KANU), the first ruling political party following their independence in 1963, and the East African Indian National Congress, a political party representing Indian/Asian interests in Kenya, Makhan Singh stood up to speak to his comrades sitting there.
In an impassioned address, he demanded ‘Uhuru Sasa’, which in Kiswahili meant ‘Freedom Now’. This was the first-ever call for total Kenyan independence from Britain.
Yes, you heard that right. A bespectacled Punjabi man spoke up in Nairobi and called for the British to grant total independence to their colony. British authorities soon arrested Makhan for being an “undesirable person” under its Deportation (Immigrant British Subjects) Ordinance of 1949. This arrest was inevitable…