In this full interview (we previously carried a short version of this interview), Retired psychologist, former Dean of Students at the University of Nairobi, former Senior Diversity Officer at Penn State University, and former Chair of Nairobi Professional Women Association, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau, discusses the impact of the encounter between Europeans and Africans and the rise of Mau Mau.
She comments on the psychological impacts of colonialism and explains how Europeans took advantage of African ubuntu and generosity to colonise. She also discusses the miseducation of the African, the psychological aspects of the Mau Mau oaths, traditional moral and belief systems, aspects of traditional medicine, the trauma of the Mau Mau war, and other topics. Dr. Wanjiru recounts the mistreatment women endured at the hands of British soldiers, often referred to as “Johnnies.” She places this violence in contrast with Kikuyu traditions, emphasizing that domestic violence was not accepted in traditional Kikuyu society.
