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Amorous white bachelors defied a 'concubine circular'

 British soldiers during Mau Mau operation in the 1950s. [File, Standard]

They were young, suave and keen administrators. Their work was to assist the governors of colonial Kenya, a task they performed with much gusto, more often in some remote outposts with unbearable living conditions.

Most of the young men had sailed to Kenya without much family support but found relief working for the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC), a commercial entity that had been charged with administering the land on behalf of the British colonial office. 

Soon though, the company relinquished the mandate to the government in 1895. A good number of the young men opted to work for the government as District Commissioners (DCs) and District Officers (DOs). And that is when matters became complicated for these lads. “The lot of such young men, posted to remote stations miles from any white men or women, was to suffer loneliness, despair and sexual frustration for those who did not have African mistresses,” wrote Christine Nicholls.

Yes, the ‘clever’ administrators cohabited with local women, risking the wrath of the British government. Any officer wishing to get married had to seek permission from higher authorities but the young men found it bothersome cutting through several layers of bureaucracy in order to get a wife, especially at a time when there were few white, single women. In 1903, it was reported, the Nandi DC had collected a harem and so was his Nyeri counterpart, who inherited several girls from his colleague after the latter was promoted.

The matter of keeping African mistresses caused a ruckus in the British parliament where MP Cathcart Wason deplored the double standards applied between government officials in Britain and those in Kenya. The MPs, he said, “could just walk outside and take their pick of white women”, his comments attracting the ire of Downing Street which issued a stern warning. 

The government issued a ‘sexual directive’, ‘immoral relations memo’, or ‘the concubine circular’ in January 1909. Wrote State Secretary Lord Crewe: “Officers in the service of the Crown colonies and Protectorates have entered into arrangements of concubinage with women belonging to the native population. The moral objections to such conduct are so generally recognised that it is unnecessary to dwell on them. Please warn them of the official ruin which will certainly follow.”

The tough edict did little to tame the amorous ways of the single men. In the inhospitable terrain where a hermit’s lifestyle, overbearing heat, and contracting tropical diseases were the norm, finding solace in local women was a risk they were willing to take.