The rise of social and welfare associations

Social and welfare associations were peasants and worker’s interest groups formed by Africans to protest against colonial exploitation and oppression. Africans formed these associations during the colonial period to demand and defend their needs and rights. There were different forms of social and welfare associations formed during the colonial rule. Some were created by rural peasants, urban dwellers and civil servants. Such associations did not directly demand political independence. However, their grievances formed the basis for political activity. Some of the social and welfare associations established were:

(a) skilled and unskilled workers’ associations. These associations were mainly formed to unite workers to
present their demand for higher wages, equal pay for workers with similar qualifications and better
social services like houses, health and education. They included the Tanganyika Territory African Civil
Servants Association (TTACSA). It was formed in 1922 by Martin Kayamba to demand more rights and
better treatment for the African workers under British colonial rule. The other popular association
was the African Association (AA) which was formed in Dar es Salaam in 1929. Between 1934 and
1936, the African Association expanded by opening branches in Zanzibar and Dodoma. In 1948, it split
into two and changed its name to Tanganyika African Association (TAA) and Zanzibar African
Association (ZAA) (see Figure 2.1). In addition to TTACSA, TAA and ZAA, there were other associations
including African Labour Union, which was formed by dockworkers in Dar es Salaam, the African
Government Employees’ Association, Teachers’ Association, the Association of Cooks and Domestic
Servants in Dar es Salaam and the Usangi Sports and Welfare Club. There were similar associations in
other parts of Africa, including the Mine Workers Union in Northern Rhodesia (present day Zambia),
the North Kavirondo Central Association in Kenya and the National Congress of British West Africa
that united Africans in the British colonies of West Africa. Ghanaian elites formed their association
in 1920 to demand increased representation in various state organs, especially in the legislative
council;

Figure 2.1: TAA members

(b) African traders, including petty traders in urban areas, addressed their grievances including
discrimination against unequal consideration in the provision of loans and other facilities between
Africans and the people of other races; and

(c) peasant co-operative societies were formed to represent peasants who grew similar crops. Example
of peasant cooperative societies was the Kilimanjaro Native Planters’ Association in Tanganyika. The
association was formed by the Chagga coffee growers in 1925 under the leadership of Joseph Merinyo
to demand a fair price. The association also fought against land alienation. Other peasant associations
formed in Tanganyika included the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), the Mwakaleli
African Growers’ Association in Mbeya, the Usambara Native Growers’ Association (1931), the Bugufi
Growers’ Associations in Ngara and the Ngaka Coffee Society in Umatengo. Similar associations were
also formed in Kenya, Uganda and the rest of Africa. In Kenya, peasant associations included the
Kikuyu Association, which was formed in 1920 under the leadership of Chief Koinange and the
Ukamba Members’ Association. Both associations had the objective of protecting peasant land
against settler expropriation. In Uganda, the Bataka Association was formed in 1921, with land
alienation as its major grievance. In Ghana, the Gold Coast Aborigines was formed to fight against the
laws that had been enacted to exploit the African land. By and large, the associations formed in Africa
defended the needs of farmers such as high prices for agricultural products, land alienation and
forced labour

Reasons for the rise of social and welfare associations
The reasons for the rise of the social and welfare associations in Africa were:

(a) inspiration from African soldiers who returned from the First World War. The soldiers had been
exposed to the experiences of other nations in terms of social, political and economic demands
against colonialism as they fought outside the continent. When they returned home, they raised the
awareness of other Africans on the importance of social and welfare associations in the process of
expressing their grievances;

(b) the role of elites, especially those trained by the colonialists in Europe. Although African elites were
trained so that they could work for the colonialists, they used their exposure to raise the awareness
of their fellow Africans on how to fight against colonial rule;

(c) increased colonial exploitation of human and natural resources. The First World War left the
European nations under severe economic conditions. So, they intensified colonial exploitation to
compensate for the resources lost during the war; and

(d) increased awareness of African urban dwellers on the evils of colonialism. They started forming social
and welfare associations on the basis of their places of origin, religion and work. Later on, these
associations grew bigger and become more influential.

The contribution of social and welfare associations to the rise of mass nationalism
Below is the contribution of the social and welfare associations to the rise of mass nationalism in Africa:

(a) they helped to keep African politics alive, since some of them drew members from different ethnic groups and religious affiliations. These associations discouraged ethnic and religious sentiments among their members and by so doing, they brought together various groups of people with similar interests;

(b) they built offices and political infrastructures, which were used by the nationalist leaders during the struggle for independence;

(c) Africans transformed some of the social and welfare associations into political parties during the struggle for independence. For example, Tanganyika African Association was transformed into Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) in 1954;

(d) the existence of these associations put the colonial state under pressure, thus forcing it to reduce mistreatment of the Africans; and

(e) they prepared people, who later led the struggle for independence. The leaders raised the political awareness of other people on the need for unity and mass movements to achieve independence. For example, Jomo Kenyatta, a member of the Kikuyu Central Association, led the mass political movement that led to the achievement of Kenya’s independence in 1963.

Generally, the African social and welfare associations played an important role in providing education and raising consciousness among Africans about the need for freedom. They promoted unity among ethnic groups and, over time, increased Africans’ demands, which were beyond the interests of ethnic groups. They also produced leaders who actively participated in the struggle for independence after 1945. Finally, the associations provided a framework through which different ethnic groups met and discussed methods of fighting against the evils of colonialism. In brief, the social and welfare associations laid the foundation for the formation of mass political parties between the 1940s and 1970s.

Weaknesses of the social and welfare associations
Despite their strengths, the social and welfare associations had some weaknesses:

(a) they were small groups, mainly formed along the lines of ethnic groups or regions. Although they
forced the colonial state to work on their demands, most of their grievances appeared to be ethnic-
based;

(b) They suffered from the threats of colonial governments. Most of the Africans could not join these
associations fearing colonial brutality and harassment. The colonial governments undermined these
association by imprisoning their leaders. For example, in Kenya, Harry Thuku, the leader of the Kikuyu
Central Association, was arrested for leading the association;

(c) they faced financial problems because their members made low contributions due to low amount of
income they earned; and

(d) they had inadequately skilled and knowledgeable leaders for managing these associations. This
caused difficulty in organising and mobilising members