In June 1905, in present-day Kericho County in southwestern Kenya, the British colonial administration carried out one of the deadliest punitive expeditions in East African history. Known as the Sotik Massacre, the assault claimed the lives of up to 1,850 Kipsigis men, women, and children. Yet despite its staggering death toll and brutality, the event has remained largely unknown for over a century, both internationally and even within Kenya.
The events that led to the Sotik massacre were rooted in a volatile mix of inter-community conflict and colonial expansion. The Kipsigis, part of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group, had long engaged in cattle raiding, sometimes clashing with neighbouring Maasai communities. In the early 1900s, one such series of raids, involving the capture of Maasai cattle and people, drew the direct attention of the British colonial authorities.
By this time, Britain was consolidating control over the East Africa Protectorate and was eager to secure fertile highland areas for European settlers. The colonial administration painted the Kipsigis’ action as lawlessness, framing it as a threat not only to “friendly tribes” but to the wider order they sought to impose. In reality, such conflicts provided a convenient pretext for military action that could pave the way for land appropriation.
When negotiations over the return of cattle and captives failed, the British dispatched a heavily-armed punitive expedition led by Major Richard Pope-Hennessy. In June 1905, his column advanced into Sotik territory. It was no small patrol, this was a deliberate show of force equipped with modern rifles and, crucially, rapid-firing machine guns. The Kipsigis, with spears and limited firearms, were no match for the firepower they faced.
The attack was swift and devastating. Colonial troops surrounded settlements, opened fire indiscriminately, and slaughtered entire groups. Witness accounts and later research suggest that over 15,000 rounds were fired during the operation. The British reported recovering tens of thousands of cattle but recorded only a single death on their side. Such a huge difference in losses shows how one-sided the encounter was, it wasn’t a battle, it was a massacre.
The outcome was catastrophic for the Kipsigis: an estimated 1,850 people were killed, including men, women, and little children. Over 20,000 head of cattle were seized, along with Maasai women and children who had been taken in the earlier raid. The British force suffered minimal casualties, one man killed and six wounded, while expending 14,711 rifle rounds and 614 Maxim gun rounds.
The official mission objectives, punishing the Kipsigis, recovering the Maasai captives, and securing the region, were declared complete by 12 July 1905, when the force was demobilized. The colonial government hailed the operation as a success that had “effectually established peace and good order in Sotik” and “thrown this fine country open to colonisation.”
But beneath the official language lay an enormous profit. The expedition had been allocated £20,000, yet the seized cattle, each sold at £3, brought in £60,000 yielding a £40,000 profit for the colonial treasury.
The massacre also marked the beginning of systematic land alienation in the region. Large tracts of Kipsigis land were taken for white settlers, laying the groundwork for the “White Highlands” and pushing the Kipsigis into smaller reserves. The Talai clan, a leading Kipsigis lineage, faced exile, often to inhospitable areas where many perished from disease and hardship.
The massacre was also part of a broader campaign of suppression in 1905 that included the killing of Orkoiyot Koitalel arap Samoei, the revered Nandi leader who resisted British encroachment. Together, these actions cleared much of the highlands of organized African resistance.
For decades, the Sotik Massacre remained a footnote in colonial records, but in recent years, there has been renewed interest in documenting and publicizing the Sotik Massacre. Activists, scholars, and local leaders in Kericho have called for formal recognition of the killings and for discussions about reparations, particularly in relation to land stolen during and after the massacre.
In the United Kingdom, MP Claudia Webbe has also urged that the massacre be included in British school curricula as part of a more honest account of empire. Meanwhile, Kenyan historians continue to gather oral testimonies and piece together archival fragments to ensure the event is not forgotten.
Sources:
https://societyofblacklawyers.co.uk/press-release-historical-injustices-the-sotik-massacre-blood-tea-and-land-alienation/
https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/amp/business/education/article/2001382876/mp-wants-sotik-massacre-taught-in-all-british-schools
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28119/page/1963/data.pdf
