This article argues that the chiefs' tyranny in early colonial Kenya had its roots in the British administrative style since the Government needed strong-handed local leaders to enforce its unpopular laws and regulations. That was why the chiefs got away with their tyranny because the Government condoned it to a certain extent. They also got away with it because of the alien nature of their positions, their duties and their people inadvertently condoning it. The first generation of chiefs from Kiambu district is used as a case study to illustrate what was happening in the colony during the period under study.
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