The construction of Kenya’s railway line can be said to have been determined by fate. Powerful seers like Syokimau had long been believed to have predicted a long iron snake breathing fire and smoke. It was said to slink its way from the Indian Ocean, bending and turning towards a destination unknown to man. Though the railway seemed to have been written in the stars, its beginnings were anything but magical.
The Need For a Railway
The first chatters about a railway line in British East Africa began to appear in 1891. It began with a pressing need for British colonialists to make their way from the Kenyan Coast to Uganda, a place of interest due to Lake Victoria – the source of the Nile. Interest in the Nile stemmed from Britain’s occupancy of Egypt. An area reliant on the river, British officials recognised that any control of Egypt would stem from the control of the Nile – and more importantly, its source. In addition, the British had begun to prospect the copper found in Uganda as a resource they aimed to exploit. With these factors in mind, they set about exerting power over the region around Lake Victoria. They started with occupying Uganda in 1894.
There was only one problem. Landlocked Uganda was difficult to administer. British officials had to devise an efficient way to ferry resources to Uganda from ships landing on the Eastern Coast. At the time, horses and mules were used for transportation. But these methods were not largescale enough for the number of raw materials they needed to transport to Uganda and the number of goods needed to be taken back to Britain.
Although colonial powers regarded Uganda as the main object of conquest, the British East Africa highlands had also been mapped out as being ideal for sheep-rearing, ranching and fruit farming. Rich soils and a favourable climate were to thank for this assessment made by British geologist J.W Gregory who was sent to assess settlement possibilities in Eastern Africa.
Kenya It Is
As 1895 approached, it became clear that British East Africa was the perfect candidate for a railway. With Tanganyika just below squarely under the control of the Germans and Ethiopia above subject to the Italians, the country was relatively untouched by European powers. It was the only remaining area with the closest coastline to Uganda and no fealty to other European powers. Though a few British settlers had made their way to the area, it only officially became a protectorate of Britain in 1895.
Once under British protection, it was all but certain that the railway would be built. With it, control of East African land, people and resources would be made that much easier. But not everyone saw it this way. Though the proposition seemed beneficial to British aims, its beginnings were marred by divisions and stalled by detractors. Some found the 5 million price tag attached to the construction of the line laughable. In the British Parliament, politicians questioned the need for such an expensive railway line and doubted that snaking through land populated by what they considered uneducated Africans would be viable.
Pushback Against The ‘Lunatic Line’
On the whole, the idea was seen as ludicrous, and even before the first track was laid, the railway had earned the name ‘Lunatic Line’.
Still, these remonstrations were futile, and construction began in earnest in 1896. The Lunatic Line, however, earned its title in more ways than one. Africans not far removed from mistreatment at the hands of Arab slavers refused to provide labour for the line’s development. As a result, Kenyan-Asian businessman Alibhai Jevanjee was enlisted. He was responsible for pulling in Indian labourers who already had experience with building a railway line in India.
Challenges During Construction
The environment for these extra hands was anything but friendly. Mosquitoes descended upon the Indian workers and malaria, dysentery and smallpox became the order of the day. A lack of any medical centres only exacerbated the situation. Ill railway employees were unable to seek help for their ailments. To make matters even worse, the salty water on the Kenyan Coast spelt disaster for acquiring fresh drinking water and dehydration.
With Mombasa being an island, the aim was to build a bridge from the mainland. However, the materials needed for this had not yet arrived in Kenya and the project experienced delays. When the railway’s tracks began to inch out of Mombasa, even more trouble accosted the workers. As they approached the Mazeras escarpment not too far from Mombasa, the steep climb made it nearly impossible for locomotives to pass through.
In all these difficulties, it almost seemed that the forces that conjured up the railway all those years ago were still at play. After overcoming dissent, disease and delays, the line became an inexorable force making its way through Kenya.
