A Historical Perspective on Railways, Sovereignty, and Foreign Powers in East Africa

Abstract

The Kenya Standard Gauge Railway is an ongoing Chinese-funded project that intersects the ambitions of Kenyan economic growth, East African integration and Chinese global ascendancy through the Belt and Road. The construction of the railway has raised the controversial question of whether China is perpetrating “neocolonialism” in Kenya. To answer this question, it is useful to study a closely related example of classic colonialism--the Uganda Railway, built under British rule--and a historical example of joint Chinese-African railway building, namely the Tanzania-Zambia Railway... Ultimately, my answer to the question of “Does China’s behavior on the Kenya SGR constitute neocolonialism?” is “potentially.” Kenya certainly should approach future Chinese deals, including future phases of the SGR, with caution. And Kenyan citizens have good reason to be suspicious of a debt trap. However, Kenya is not doomed to that fate by any means and the SGR on its own is a valuable tool that may yet help Kenya achieve its development goals.