§ 15. Dr. D. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make available Command Paper No. 9081, 1954, Memorandum on the Mau Mau Oath Ceremonies, at present only available in the Library of the House of Commons, to the list of persons submitted to him by the hon. Member for 1725 Carlisle; and if he will meanwhile withhold further advice to the Governor of Kenya relative to the release of Jomo Kenyatta.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodCopies of the document concerned were distributed to public libraries, where they are available at the discretion of the librarian on application. As regards the second part of the Question, I have already made the position clear in the House.
§ Dr. JohnsonAlthough, on the one hand, from the point of view of its obscene content, this paper is not far outside the bounds of "Lady Chatterley's Lover", there has, on the other hand, never been any suggestion at any time that the late Mr. D. H. Lawrence should be made Prime Minister of Great Britain? Is not that analogous to what has been suggested in the House today, and is it not repugnant that anyone associated with those ceremonies should occupy a responsible position in the Commonwealth?
§ Mr. MacleodMy hon. Friend need not prove to this House that Mau Mau was a bestial movement. We all know that. I made it quite clear in my Answer that copies of this document were not, as my hon. Friend's Question assumes, restricted to the Library of the House of Commons but were distributed to public libraries as well.
§ 26. Sir A. Hurdasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if, in view of the recent attacks on Europeans in Kenya, reminiscent of the Mau Mau days, he will amplify the reference in the Governor's broadcast of 1st March to the security risk involved in releasing Jomo Kenyatta now; and if the Kenya police force have traced any organisation behind these attacks.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodThere is no evidence of political motivation nor of any organisation behind the recent increase in serious crime in Kenya which arises mainly from the present economic depression aggravated by the widespread and serious drought and consequential food shortage in many areas, and Europeans have been neither the sole nor even the principal victims. I consider that the Governor's reference in his statement of 1st March to the security risk involved in releasing Jomo Kenyatta puts the position clearly.
§ Mr. StonehouseIs my right hon. Friend aware that stability and law and order in Kenya will be undermined if he continues to detain Jomo Kenyatta, and on this issue will he not also accept the wise advice of Mr. Nyrere, who says that Jomo Kenyatta should be released?
§ Mr. MacleodThere can be no swifter way of destroying the prospects for the future of Kenya, which I think are very encouraging at the present time, after the elections than by retreating from a position so carefully and deliberately taken up by the Governor of Kenya and Her Majesty's Government.