Newspaper Coverage of Kenyan Independence | Book Bank Trust

Artefacts of a Nation’s Birth - Preserving the Newspapers of Kenya’s Transition From Colony to Nation

The McMillan Memorial Library’s archive holds more than 45,000 print newspaper issues across the three library branches. The rich newspaper collection includes reports of key historical events during Kenya’s struggle for independence such as the Mau Mau uprising, political assassinations, social and cultural developments, human rights movements and exploitative land acquisition laws.

Project Abstract

The Book Bank Trust is leading the effort to digitize the most unique and endangered newspapers in the archival collection of the McMillan Memorial Library (Kenya), focusing primarily on materials from 1952-2010. McMillan Library’s unique newspaper collection contains some of the only remaining copies of newspapers from 28 different publishers and are the only openly available newspaper collection in Kenya. Providing digital access to this collection will expand research and understanding related to pressing issues such as decolonization, place and identity, colonial legacies, policies and land issues, as well as public memory and consciousness.

Kenya’s independence struggle continue to be culturally significant because one cannot, “...understand why the quest for African freedom and expected prosperity did not materialize after independence unless we understand the historical precedents that gave rise to colonialism, its social and intellectual foundation, its enduring as well as changing aspects, and the cascading disasters that followed” (Bulhan, 2015).

Related Projects

A Palace for the People | A podcast unearthing pieces of Nairobi’s history that support and feed the restoration process of the McMillan Memorial Library and its branches in Makadara and Kaloleni.
McMillian Memorial Library Digital Archive | This archive is a respository of digitised archives housed at the McMillan Memorial Library on Banda Street, Nairobi.

Video Resources from Book Bunk

"How to Build A Personal Archive" | Learn how you can create, preserve and digitise your personal collection of journals, photographs, family albums and documents that are at risk of getting lost or damaged.
"How to Protect Your Personal Archives from Climate Change" | Learn how to preserve your personal collection of journals, photographs, family albums and documents from the risk of damage due to climate change.