In spite of the fact that the British won a clear military victory, Kenyans were granted nearly all of the demands made by the KAU back in 1951. In June 1956, a program of villigization and land reform consolidated the land holdings of the Kikuyu, increasing the number of Kikuyu allies within the colonial government. This was coupled with a relaxation of the ban preventing Africans from growing coffee, now a primary cash crop, which would quickly lead to a dramatic rise in the income of small farmers over the next ten years.
In the cities, the colonial authorities decided to dispel tensions after Operation Anvil by raising urban wages, which strengthened the hand of moderate Union organizations. By 1956, the British had granted direct election of African members to the Legislative Assembly, followed shortly after that by an increase in the number of African seats to fourteen. A Parliamentary conference held in January 1960, indicated that the British would accept a “One person-One vote…
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