Evaluate the role of trade unions in the achievement of independence in Kenya.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the role of trade unions in the achievement of independence in Kenya, weighing up their importance or otherwise. Candidates may refer to the significance of industrial strike action in the early days of the nationalist movement, the links forged with international trade unionism that helped raise the global profile of the nationalist struggle, post-war union agitation leading to a protective labour code, and the emergence of union leader Tom Mboya as a leading nationalist politician, especially during Kenyatta’s imprisonment and at the Lancaster House conferences. Both importance and limitations must be clearly indicated but there does not need to be an equal focus on each. While other relevant factors, for example the role of other leaders and groups unconnected to the trade unions, may be referred to in order to contextualize the role of trade unions, the bulk of the response will remain on that factor.