British Perspectives on Aulihan Somali Unrest in the East Africa Protectorate, 1915-18

This article examines an Aulihan Somali uprising that occurred in the northeastern frontier of Great Britain’s East Africa Pro t e c t o ra t e, or EAP, during Wo r l d War I.3 The disorder began with a major livestock raid in December 1915 by Aulihan on some Samburu who had ve n t u red with their herds into the region of the Lorian Swamp. Less than two months later, the sack of the British fro n t i e r post at Serenli on the Juba River followed. At the time of the disturbances, the colonial authorities we re acutely awa re of their precarious position on the fro nt i e r. Their insecurity was highlighted by clashes with Ethiopian “Tigre,” or bandits, that had resulted in the death of one British officer and the wounding of another in 1913 in the Northern Frontier District (NFD). Furthermore, there had been seve ral earlier armed clashes in Jubaland to the east of the NFD. Since the arrival of the first British agents in the region, colonial policy unsuccessfully