There was a time when Sikhs served in their multitudes in the police forces of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania – right from the turn of the 1900s until the the late 1960s – the very first non-European policeman being recorded in Africa as Sardar Kapur Singh in 1895 in Uganda Protectorate (which was later known as Kenya Colony from 1920 to 1963).
Sikh and other Indian presence in the police in the East African countries diminished drastically as the Africanisation process took over, where the Indians and Europeans were given the choice of staying in Kenya as citizens and keep their posts or leave for India or Britain. Even the, those that chose to remain felt they were left with little opportunity to progress as indigenous Africans were given preference over them. Gradually, their role and once very visible identity in the police forces dried and eventually died out.
The Sikhs stood out the tallest in the colonial and very brief post colonial roles, with their turbans and full beards – an identity that remained true to their Sikh faith principles of living and working as saint-soliders. Such exemplary Sikhs now serve in great numbers only in India, USA, Canada, UK and Australia, but no longer anywhere in Africa where they once served with pride and honour.
