When World War I began in 1914, all Africans – with the exception of Abyssinians and Liberians – lived under colonial rule. As such, the consequences of this European war were also felt on the African continent. Colonies became recruitment grounds for soldiers and labourers. Like most active war participants, a significant number of these Africans became prisoners of war.
An acute shortage of goods and services accompanied the war, and labour was one of the shortages the colonies suffered. This affected the progression of industries driven by African toil such as private plantation farming and public infrastructure maintenance. On the flip side, work done by Europeans was not stalled, and some developments even spurred in certain sectors. One such outcome was the establishment of Likoni Ferry in 1914. The ferry, which consisted of a pontoon boat drawn using a motorboat, was created to transport British troops to the mainland south of Mombasa.
Colonial authorities had no hesitation about using Africans captured during the war to fill existing labour gaps, and in 1917 the British military authorities transported 800 prisoners of war from German East Africa to the north of British East Africa to build roads. After crossing the border, these prisoners were transported to the internment camp in Nairobi before being relocated to Mombasa to begin the construction of Salim Road the next year. Salim Road stretched from the Freretown Ferry to the new Likoni Ferry.
Thanks to the roads built during the war, even after it ended, Mombasa’s growth continued due to the island’s accessibility. A motorized ferry was introduced at Likoni in 1926. In 1937, Kenya Bus Services took over the management of this crossing. This transport franchise was an arrangement with the Municipal Council of Mombasa since the bus company was successfully operating a bus network in Mombasa and Nairobi.
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On 14th November 1948, Charles – the eldest son of Princess Elizabeth and Philip – was born at Buckingham Palace. He was crowned the Duke of Edinburgh. Three years later, his mother was proclaimed Queen Elizabeth II following the death of King George VI. On The Queen’s accession to the throne, Prince Charles became heir apparent. To commemorate this event, a part of Salim Road running from the intersection with Kilindini Road down to Likoni Ferry was renamed by the British colonial government to Prince Charles Street.
The growth of Prince Charles Street went hand in hand with the development of Likoni Ferry. In 1957, a new era was ushered in as more modern ferries were introduced to the crossing.
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One of the changes that followed independence was the decolonization of street names, and the names of African leaders were the first to be considered during this process. Prince Charles Street was renamed to Nyerere Avenue after Tanzania’s newly elected president.
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was born in Tanganyika in 1922. He was educated at Tabora Secondary School and Makerere College in Uganda before going to Edinburgh University. He graduated with a master’s degree in history and economics in 1952 before returning to Tanganyika to teach.
Nyerere entered the political arena in 1953 and was one of the key figures who steered Tanganyika to gaining its self-governance in September 1960. On 9th December 1961, Tanganyika became independent with Nyerere as its first prime minister. The next month, however, he resigned from this position to devote his time to writing and synthesizing his views of government and of African unity. When Tanganyika became a republic in 1962, he was elected president, and in 1964 he became president of the United Republic of Tanzania (Tanganyika and Zanzibar).
Naming this street after a Tanzanian leader was not only a commemoration of his accomplishments, but it was also a tribute to the prisoners of war who hailed from this nation whose labour was exploited to build this street.
