Kenyan soldiers, who were appointed by the colonial rule to guard the detainees, went to ask the detainees whether they were going to work or not. Those who refused were thoroughly beaten, leading to the death of 11 detainees
Tana irrigation scheme is the oldest of the seven public irrigation schemes in Kenya managed by the National Irrigation Authority.
Manager Kirimi Kirigia said the scheme was started in Garole in 1953 during the Mau Mau and colonial government war.
The colonial government requested then chief Kofa Gavava and elders to allow them to farm the land and the request was granted, he said.
“The colonial rulers put a machine on the banks of River Tana to pump water to the scheme land,” Kirigia said.
Captured Mau Mau fighters were used to provide the labour to start irrigation schemes, among them the Tana one.
Gibson Mwaura, a farmer at the scheme, said the detainees were forced to dig canals from the riverbank to the scheme land.
“They worked under harsh conditions and were not allowed to speak to the people in the community who were Pokomos," he said.
"To ensure this was possible, the British colonialists spread rumours that the Mau Mau ate people, which instilled fear among the local residents, but they later came to realise that the information was false, and they started working together with the Mau Mau detainees in the scheme.”
In March 1959, there was an uprising by the Mau Mau detainees who opposed the brutality and hard labour they were subjected to.
They refused to work but the colonialists dug deeper, with harsher treatment.
“Kenyan soldiers, who were appointed by the colonial rule to guard the detainees, went to ask the detainees whether they were going to work or not. Those who refused were thoroughly beaten, leading to the death of 11 detainees,” said Chekea Ngatho, a farmer in the scheme.
The deaths sparked more demonstrations all over the country, with calls to resist colonialist oppression so the detainees were freed and given land to till.
“Those who remained were the first to be allocated farms and then later local people were given farms as well,” Mwaura said.
By June 1959 indigenous farmers had taken over the scheme and were growing crops such as cotton, maize, onions, tomatoes and spinach which earned them a livelihood and this became a major boost to the region's economy.
Kirigia said in the early 1990s, Tana River, the scheme’s source of water, changed its course diverting one kilometre away from the pumping machine.
The scheme remained without irrigation water for a long time and it collapsed. This drove farmers away.
“In 2009, the rehabilitation of the scheme began during President Mwai Kibaki’s regime through the Economic Stimulus Package Programme. The NIA reconstructed and rehabilitated the scheme which saw farmers return,” Kirigia said.
He added that since 2010, the NIA in partnership with private players such as Kenya Seed Company and Simlaw Seeds Company have been providing support to farmers at the scheme.
This has enabled them to produce crops such as maize, green grams, cotton, rice, watermelons and onions, boosting the food security drive.
Kirigia said the scheme has a gazetted 12,639 acres, but only 5,000 are in use supporting around 1,450 farming households.
“About 6,000 people depend on the scheme for livelihood as the NIA works to ensure that farmers receive enough water for irrigation by maintaining the pumping station, canals and construction of water reservoirs,” he said.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya