The legal emancipation of slaves in Zanzibar and on the Swahili coast of Kenya was enacted in 1907, but the measure was not enforced on Lamu Island until 1910. The slaveowners of Lamu were already in dire straits from the decline of their plantations on the mainland and from the changes accompanying colonial rule which, by contrast with Mombasa, left Lamu Island as an economic backwater. They were little inclined to cooperate with the provisions of the legislation and were actively abetted in this by some of their slaves. Emancipation was therefore a more protracted process than in those parts of the coast where alternative opportunities had opened up for ex-slaves and for landowners. Those who were gradually liberated either emigrated elsewhere or entered into new forms of dependent relationships with the Afro-Arab aristocracy. Meanwhile, slavery lingered on under the noses of the British officials. (Source: ASC Documentation).
