Death of Kitosh in Kenya

Date: June 11, 1923 • Location: London, United Kingdom

Kitosh, an African labourer, died after having been flogged by his British employer, in a case that eventually led to reform of the legal system of the Kenya Colony.

In June 1923, British settler Jasper Abraham was tried for the murder of African labourer Kitosh in the Kenya Colony. Kitosh had died after a flogging administered by Abraham and his employees at a farm near the town of Molo, Kenya. The jury, which was all-European and composed of Abraham's acquaintances, found him guilty of a lesser charge of grievous hurt and he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.