In September 1939, the catastrophic Second World War had broken out and gripped the world with fear. In the throes of violence, morale became a pertinent issue for armies across the world. When it came to British-ruled Kenya, the colonial government was particularly concerned about how to maintain high spirits among the African soldiers recruited to put their lives on the line for the allied forces. 

While devising a solution, colonial officials recognised the need to converse with soldiers in their language to make sure any messaging hit home. As a result, the newspaper Baraza was born. Translating to ‘a public meeting place’ in Swahili, the paper was begun by The East African Standard Ltd. at the behest of the colonial government. Articles were written in Swahili and Francis Khamisi was installed as its very first editor. The weekly paper contained local news, information about the war, court proceedings and bits and pieces of international news all packaged for non-English speaking readers. It was delivered to African soldiers on the frontlines to influence a positive outlook towards a burdensome war.

Push-Back from Africans 

Despite attempts to dole out articles in Swahili, Africans were not naive to the true intentions of Baraza. They wholly rejected the paper and saw it for what it was: another attempt by the colonial government to control the African population. Even after being rebuffed by the very audience it targeted, Baraza had powerful benefactors who would not take its failure lying down. The colonial government and settlers financially fuelled the paper’s operations even in the face of ruin. For them, an opportunity to placate African soldiers was too precious to let go of. With the influence of settlers – and particularly majority shareholder Claude Anderson (a prominent European businessman) – the paper was guaranteed advertising. In the downturn, profits made by The East African Standard would also keep Baraza afloat. 

To make double sure the newspaper forged ahead, the colonial government forbade all papers written in vernacular. This made Baraza a one-of-a-kind source of news written in a local language. In all these attempts to further the newspaper, attacks on independence movements in Kenya were a common topic in the articles. National political parties and the trade union movement were direct targets of the European-sponsored paper. 

Competition with the African-owned Press 

But once again, British officials had underestimated the determination of Africans to resist colonial rhetoric. Baraza began to pale in comparison to the brazen papers printed by revolutionaries like Bildad Kaggia. This shift encouraged other editors to begin anti-colonial newspapers reporting the happenings at the Kenya African Union (KAU), a nationalist party. 

The rise of these papers was of great concern to the colonial government. They endeavoured to provide alternative news sheets to rival the African-run press. To compete with anti-colonial newspapers, the Chief Native Commissioner rallied officials to promote the fortnightly newspaper Picha (Picture in Swahili). This newspaper was run by a multi-racial staff and deemed appropriate by colonial powers. In other words, they believed the journalists would remain loyal to the government rather than run supposedly seditious content like other African newspapers.  

A Paper Coming into its Own 

The response of African vernacular newspapers to publications such as Baraza and Picha was clear. They came out strongly against Baraza specifically. It was even blacklisted by KAU in 1952. And the sentiment was reflected in the newspaper’s plummeting sales. Week after week, Baraza’s vans could be seen travelling back to headquarters with thousands of unbought newspapers in tow. These events would have spelt the end of Baraza within months were it not for the State of Emergency declared in 1952. Because of the severe crackdown on Africans until 1960, the colonial-backed newspaper persevered.  

Even after independence, Baraza was the most popular weekly broadsheet and even recovered to sell 61,000 copies weekly in 1973. Under the continued leadership of Francis Khamisi, it was even more popular in Tanzania than in Kenya. The paper mainly appealed to working-class Africans. The use of Swahili was no longer a manipulative tool but one that made the paper accessible to the everyday person. The paper evolved to contain astrology columns, contests, Swahili poetry and puzzles that thrilled readers. And when there were issues concerning working-class Africans, Baraza could be relied upon to be a shield. It remained diligent in being the voice of the masses until its closure in 1979. 

The story of Baraza and Picha newspapers tells of the growth of Kenyan movements against colonial rule in Kenya. Baraza was a paper that experienced both colonial control and the freedom that came with independence.  

These papers have made meaningful contributions to the lengthy history of vernacular newspapers in the country and have earned their place in the history of Kenyan journalism.  

Read the next story in the series here!

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