Before Kenya gained independence in 1963, Nairobi’s streets bore colonial names honoring the British officials and the Monarchs. After Independence, the city began reclaiming its identity by renaming streets after Kenyan leaders, Mau Mau heroes, and national figures.
For decades, Nairobi’s streets were mapped not just as physical routes but as markers of colonial authority. After independence, Kenya undertook the long process of reclaiming these public spaces, replacing colonial names with the national heroes.
A City Written in British Names
In the early 1900s, Nairobi streets were named after powerful colonial officials and royal icons who had shaped the administration of the East Africa Protectorate.
Some of the prominent names include Delamere Avenue, named after Lord Delamere, a leader of the settler community, and Sadler Street, named after Sir James Hayes Sadler, a former Commissioner of the Protectorate. Others, such as Hardinge Street, Elliot Street, Preston Road, Whitehouse Road, and Stewart Street, were named after the railway officials, commissioners, and colonial administrators.
Other streets, such as Victoria Street, Coronation Avenue, Kingsway, Queensway, and Elizabeth Way, celebrated the British monarchy as an extension of the British Empire in Kenya.
Renaming of the Nairobi Streets After Independence
After independence in 1963, Kenya began reshaping its urban identity. Renaming of the streets became a key symbolic act that public spaces should reflect the country’s own heroes and history, and the national pride.
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The changes made include:
- Delamere Avenue became Kenyatta Avenue honoring the nation’s founder the Late President Jomo Kenyatta
- Sadler Street was renamed Koinange Street after freedom fighter and political leader Charles Koinange
- Hardinge Street became Kimathi Street, named after Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi the Mau Mau leader
- Colonial Victoria Street became Tom Mboya Street honoring Thomas Mboya the Pan Africanist
- St. Austin’s Road became James Gichuru Road honoring James Samuel Gichuru, co-founder of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party.
- Kingsway became the University Way
- Government Road became Moi Avenue
- Bazaar Street became Biashara Street
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