Kikuyu, << kih KOO yoo, >> are the largest ethnic group in Kenya. The Kikuyu, also known as the Gikuyu, make up about a fifth of the population. They include some of Kenya’s most educated and prosperous people. Many Kikuyu are city dwellers who work in government, education, and business. Other Kikuyu own large farms.
The Kikuyu have lived in what is now Kenya since the 1400’s. They speak a Bantu language belonging to the Niger-Congo African language family. The Kikuyu are divided into nine clans. Traditionally, they farmed and herded sheep and goats. Land was owned jointly by the members of groups of related men called mbari.
In 1895, the British seized control of Kenya. Kikuyu life changed greatly under the influence of Western systems of education and colonial economics. British settlers took land the Kikuyu considered their own. With little land or political power, many Kikuyu were forced to work on European farms or to live in poverty. In the 1950’s, the Kikuyu led a movement called Mau Mau that opposed British rule. In 1952, fighting broke out between the British and Mau Mau fighters. By the time the violence ended in 1956, about 11,500 Kikuyu had been killed. The British jailed many Kikuyu, including Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu leader. Thousands of Kikuyu were put in detention camps, and their homes were destroyed.
After Kenya became independent in 1963, Kenyatta was elected prime minister. His title later changed to president. The Kikuyu played a major role in the Kenyatta government. Since Kenyatta’s death in 1978, however, the government has worked to equalize power among the Kikuyu and other ethnic groups.
For many years, Kenyans sought compensation and acknowledgment that they had been abused by colonial authorities during the Mau Mau uprising. In 2013, the British government announced plans to pay some 20 million pounds ($30 million) in compensation to more than 5,000 Kenyans who had been tortured or otherwise mistreated by the colonial government.
