On this day, 24 January 1964, a mutiny broke out amongst soldiers near Nairobi and in Nakuru, Kenya, in protest at low pay for African soldiers. The rebels seized weapons and ammunition from an armoury at the Lanet barracks, then went on sitdown strike. Kenyan independence leader and prime minister Jomo Kenyatta promised that the mutineers would be “dealt with firmly”, then called in British troops to suppress the rebellion. A US destroyer also rushed to the area to back up UK forces. In the repression, one African soldier was killed, and one soldier and one passerby were wounded. It was the third such rebellion that week in East Africa: British troops also suppressed mutinies with similar demands in Tanzania and Uganda, again at the invitation of the new “anti-colonial” leaders.
Learn more about mutinies in our podcast episode 38 with Srsly Wrong: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e38-mutiny-with-srsly-wrong/ https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2193422437509561/?type=3