Research Update

Quick update on research. I spent this week looking through files at Kew, the National Archive in London, through their online database for files pertaining to Kenya from 1937-1947 - there doesn't appear to be much written on Kenya during the war period. In doing that I came across a set of 39 MI5 documents that were wire taps, communication intercepts, and reports on two men in Kenya. One, which you likely could have guessed, was Jomo Kenyatta with 21 of the reports. The second is a man named Peter Koinange with 18 reports. Evidently, he was a communist sympathizer, educated in the US through scholarships, and was connected to a very significant family in Kenya.

Interestingly enough, while there's plenty written on Kenyatta, there's nothing written on Koinange - just one book from 2000 about his father. The files that MI5 released on Peter Koinange weren't released to the public until 2007. So, it looks like a good field where there hasn't been a lot done - which would be great! As well, if there is enough to his story, it may lead into needing to do research in Nairobi at the National Archives there - which might mean it could turn into a further PhD topic or a book.

I'm excited! :-)