It was Sir Charles Eliot, as Commissioner-General for the East Africa Protectorate, who dreamed of making the future East African nation a ‘white man’s country’. In doing so, he had to entice as many Britons as possible to settle in the future colony for his ideals to be realised.

But colonising Kenya was not going to be easy. There was no love lost between the British government and the population following the debacle of the Uganda Railway construction that had been labelled the ‘Lunatic Express’ in derision. They needed enticements to make a living in a patch of land few knew very little about.

However, the British administrators found ready allies from South Africa. Apparently, a number of British soldiers had become unsettled by the Boer War in South Africa and could make do with new adventures. In fact, Eliot made a visit to South Africa to try and convince the settler community of the prospects that lay in East Africa. All he needed were individuals who could raise £300 as starting capital.