“The first Nubians that came to Kenya came as soldiers of the British Army…Having come here more than perhaps 120 or 130 years ago, we lost all connection with the original country, which is Sudan…I know that Nubians feel they are citizens of Kenya and they identify themselves as citizens of Kenya.”

In the late 1880s, Sudanese soldiers were incorporated into the British East Africa Company armed forces, which later became the Uganda and East Africa Rifles, and in 1902, the King's African Rifles (KAR). As the backbone of the early KAR, many Sudanese soldiers were re-settled between Uganda and Mombasa to provide protection during the construction of the Uganda Railway. Together with their large families, they settled near military camps along the railway, and made their homes there. In Kenya the largest settlement was called Kibra and was located in what would become Nairobi.

As part of the KAR, Nubians fought in World War I in German East Africa (now Tanzania), Mozambique and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), and in World War II in Somalia, Abyssinia, Madagascar and Burma, playing a vital role in the defense and development of Kenya and East Africa.

After World War II and in the early years of independence, many decommissioned soldiers as well as the younger generation of Nubians worked as petty traders, clerks and in various public sector jobs. Many provided security for government buildings, worked in the police force, and for the Kenya Bus Service.

The Nubians were well regarded by the colonial government for their service to the British Crown.  During colonial times, some Nubians held British Colonial passports and were British Protected Persons, but the years leading up to Kenya’s independence in 1963 marked a period of transition for the community. While some of the older generation remained loyal to the British, the younger generation had made their homes in Kenya, and supported the nationalist cause. Yet, upon independence and contrary to the Constitution of Kenya, most Nubians were not granted Kenyan citizenship and became stateless. The Nubians would find themselves to be a powerless minority among Kenya’s larger tribes and their position as recognized citizens of Kenya has remained tenuous ever since.