The Nairobi Incident

If, by any chance you find yourself in a matatu from Thika Rd (especially the ones that ply the Kasarani-Mwiki road) heading to town, its not unlikely to find some traffic around Muthaiga all the way to the city. To avoid this, the driver is likely to detour at Ngara, a route that will likely take you through Grogan Rd downtown. The street is full of shady spare parts dealers and mechanics in work overalls that have seen better days. Before buildings came up in that street, the strip of land belonged to Ewart Grogan, a pioneer colonialist who judged, somewhat correctly, that the centre of the newly established Nairobi would be somewhere around there. Stories of the man who traversed the entire span of the continent to win his dream girl then settled in the East African Protectorate and built his fortunes from scratch have been told but underneath was a ruthless reputation and brutish nature which can never be erased from memory.

One evening in March 1907, Grogan’s sister Dorothy and her friend arrived home shaken and alleging that they had been shamefully treated by three Kikuyu rickshaw drivers. Grogan who was enraged at this insult sought to teach them a lesson. The three drivers went to work the following morning unaware of the misfortune that was brewing. They were caught and bound up by Grogan and Sydney Fichat then marched into the city. Scores of settlers came forth to witness this spectacle.

At 9:55am, where Imenti House now stands bordered by Moi (Government Road) and Kenyatta (Delamere Avenue) Avenues a circle of settlers had gathered with Grogan in the middle and the three kikuyu men at his feet. It was right outside where the courthouse stood where he addressed the crowd with eloquence levelling his accusations against them and reiterating the fact that the colonial government would do nothing to protect them from such disrespect. The town magistrate shuffled outside the courtroom and addressed Grogan directly asking him what it is he intended to do. Grogan responded that he would “beat these boys” because he wanted to. He insisted that no one interfered as what he was doing was right and there was no indecency in doing it. When Logan tried to appeal to the crowd he was forcefully ushered out.

Grogan descended 25 lashes to the first man with a kiboko (a hippopotamus-hide whip) as the crowd urged on. Another European, Russell Bowker, followed in turn inflicting another 25 on the next man and Thord Gray finished with the third man. The three kikuyu men were left wailing in the muddy ground with one of them sustaining serious injuries.

In the subsequent arrest and trial, Grogan, Bowker, Gray, Fichat, Burn and Walter Dun were charged with Illegal assembly, not even assault. Neither denied or regretted having done it. Grogan pleaded that he was defending his sister’s honour. Russel Bowker made his defence claiming, “...as it has always been the first principle with me to flog a nigger (sic) on sight who insults a white woman, I felt it my bounded duty to take the step I did and that in a public place as a warning to the natives.” Fichat said a reckoning of the natives was in order as a Kikuyu man had insulted a female member of his family four months prior.

The case was discussed in Parliament in the House of Commons as raised by Sir George Cave who enquired whether the Grogan who was involved in this incident was the same Grogan who had transversed the continent years prior. He also expressed concern about the raising of 40 white policemen for the protection of the settlers. A young Winston Churchill (then the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies) explained that Grogan had been in the colony for sometime and that the raising of new police officers had been in consideration for a while. He added that the events that took place in Nairobi highlighted the urgency of raising the troops.

Grogan was jailed for one month and fined Rs. 500. Bowker and Gray were detained and charged half that. Their ‘jail’ was a comfortable government provided bungalow where they got food directly from hotels in Nairobi and a local band would play outside Grogan’s window at dinner. The Secretary of State assigned a medical officer visit each day to ensure Grogan did not suffer a return of the blackwater fever he got in Shonaland.