Kenya has received a significant boost in its efforts to preserve and share historical records after the United Kingdom donated new digital technology to the Kenya National Archives. The handover, led by the UK Deputy High Commissioner to Kenya, Dr. Ed Barnett, took place on Thursday in Nairobi.
The package includes a server, computers, and specialised archival software designed to enhance access to more than 307,000 digitised colonial-era files. The donation follows the UK government’s formal transfer of the records in December 2024, when 307,164 digitised documents were officially handed over to the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service (KNADS).
Speaking during the ceremony, Dr. Barnett emphasised that the support went beyond technology, noting that it was about empowering Kenyans to tell their own story.
“Today, we are providing more than just technology. Our partnership with the National Archives will ensure Kenyans can better tell their own histories. By addressing our history with honesty and openness, we demonstrate the strength of our friendship today and our commitment to building ever closer ties in the future,” he said.
The digitised records cover a wide range of subjects from the colonial period, including sensitive material related to the Mau Mau insurgency and the life of Kenya’s founding President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Historians and researchers have long described such documents as crucial for understanding Kenya’s path to independence and shaping national memory.
The earlier handover of the archives was made by the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Neil Wigan OBE, to President William Ruto during a ceremony marking the inscription of the Gedi National Monument as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Present at the technology donation event were Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services Hanna Wendot Cheptumo, State Department for Culture, Arts and Heritage Principal Secretary Ummi Bashir, and the Director of the Kenya National Archives, Francis Mwangi.
The new technology is expected to ease public access to the digitised collections, providing scholars, students, and citizens with an unprecedented opportunity to engage with Kenya’s colonial history. It also marks a milestone in the UK-Kenya partnership, highlighting how historical transparency can strengthen contemporary ties.
