John Cato Nottingham

1928 – 2018 British-born Kenyan colonial district officer; political activist; publisher; Mau Mau witness

British-born Kenyan former colonial district officer who broke with colonial abuses, co-authored The Myth of Mau Mau, and supported Mau Mau veterans seeking compensation from Britain.

Affiliations: British Colonial Office; Transafrica Publishers; Mau Mau veterans compensation campaign

Nottingham arrived in Kenya as a colonial district officer during the Emergency, became disturbed by abuses he witnessed, and later used his position and publishing work to challenge the colonial story of Mau Mau. Guardian and Business Daily accounts identify him as a source and supporter for Mau Mau veterans in the later compensation campaign.

Works in the library

2018 John Nottingham: Briton who became Kenyan at heart subject
2012 Reporting Britain's atrocities in Kenya source
1966 The Myth of "Mau Mau": Nationalism in Kenya

In the timeline

1966 The Myth of Mau Mau reframes the uprising as nationalism co-authored the book
2009 John Nottingham supports Mau Mau veterans' compensation case supported the veterans claim