The colonial legacy of 'kitchen totos' and 'shamba boys' lives on

We have slowly lost valuable history. It was in the minds and experiences of men and women who fought in World Wars I and II, particularly in faraway places like Burma or Libya.

There have been bold attempts to chronicle Mau Mau. But not enough. For example, how was it financed? What happened to any leftover money after uhuru?  Another history getting lost is the experiences of men and women who worked for mzungu, not just in the plantations, but in their homes too.

They had titles like shamba boys or kitchen totos. But the real killer of our history is our obsession with the present, mostly politics, at the expense of the past and the future. 

But why do the stories of kitchen totos and shamba boys matter? 

First, they can give a very good account of the lives and times of the mzungu and his unguarded moments. What did they eat or drink?  Who did they socialise with? Their leisure? What was their long game in Kenya? Did they pray before meals? Attend church services? One curious source of mzungu character as observed by “natives” was their nicknames, mostly in local mother tongues. Example includes Warúkira.

There is a primary school by that name near Nyahururu. Warúkira was Johanna Elizabeth Crous. The name came from “gukira,” meaning to walk fast. That’s her description as given by Mama Itegi, her former employee. 

Nyandarua’s Happy Valley had “Githuria,” meaning “the one who farts.” Either his car was backfiring or he did just that. Not sure who he was. Not far from Warúkira, we had “Kihara úcuru.” It’s not clear how a bald (kihara) and ucuru (uji) came together! He was Winnington Ingram. Enough on nicknames. Share more if you got them. The labels kitchen toto and shamba boy were demeaning. They portrayed the workers as immature, not good enough to make responsible decisions. Remember “utoto,” childishness? Boys are known for mischief. Think of combining shamba and boy or kitchen and toto. 

Yet the echoes of kitchen toto and shamba boy are still reverberating in our no longer young country.

The way we treat each other mimics that inglorious past. Starting in our homes, how do we treat our children and our spouses? Do we treat them as responsible men and women who have their own consciousness and can make good decisions? 

While it’s hard to balance between freedom and chaos for children, I have noted that children can become responsible if you trust and believe in them.

The same applies to schools. Students will surprise you if you trust them to make their own decisions and pursue their dreams within the given parameters.In the workplace, freedom could surprise you. Many companies saw a spike in productivity during Covid-19, when workers had their freedom.  Think of innovative companies and the freedom they give their workers: A good example is Google. Yet many firms and institutions treat their workers like kitchen toto and shamba boys. 

In governance, the echoes of kitchen toto and shamba boys are louder. How many political leaders treat those who voted them in with disrespect and disdain? Think of your last encounter with a policeman or your boss.

How often have you felt you have been treated like a child (toto) by your senior?  Unfortunately, joblessness makes us stomach a lot of abuse and reduces us to a state of kitchen toto and shamba boys. 

The belief in kitchen toto and shamba boys is best espoused by over policing the country. I am always surprised by the number of policemen on Kenyan roads, in buildings and everywhere.

And security guards everywhere? And we are recruiting more. The threat of terrorism is given as the key reason.  Other countries, like the US, had terror incidents but did not go to our extreme. If we change our way of life because of a terror threat, then terrorists would have “won.” 

All these security men, both official, like the policemen and private guards, are hired to control us because we can’t be trusted to do the right thing, despite working hard every day and earning an honest living. There is always someone trying to control you or demonstrating how you need to be controlled.

This approach is often counterproductive. Once we realise people don’t trust us to do the right things, we either do the wrong thing to prove them right, or wait for those who “know better “to do the right thing.  Can you now explain institutional paralysis? 

An average man or woman is mature and responsible enough to do the right thing. Want evidence? Why do Kenyans excel once they leave the country?

Sixty-two years after uhuru, we should have evolved from kitchen toto and shamba boys’ behaviour.  We forgot that the 2010 constitution could not legislate our behaviour. Let’s treat each other with respect and decorum. 

Our obsession with class and status is part of shamba boy and kitchen toto thinking. Finally, how did we get into a situation where being honest in Kenya is equated to being stupid?