General elections were held in Kenya Colony on 2 April 1924.[1] The elections were the first under a new Constitution which saw suffrage extended to Indians and Arabs, who were allotted five and one elected seat in the Legislative Council respectively, alongside the eleven elected seats for the white population, although appointed members were still the majority.[2] Whilst all adult Indian residents were given the right to vote, in the Arab community only men literate in Arabic or Swahili and resident in the country for two years were enfranchised, as the community had requested that women not be given the right to vote.[2] One member was appointed to represent the majority black population.[3] The Reform Party was one of the parties to contest the election in the white community.
Despite their enfranchisement, the Indian community boycotted the election after their leaders forbade registration in protest at being placed on a separate roll to the White voters and the small number of seats given to Indians relative to Whites.[4] [3] As a result no Indians took their seats in the Council.[5]
| European seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes | |
| Coast | Robert Robertson-Eustace | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Kenya | Reginald Berkeley Cole | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Kikuyu | Walter MacLellan Wilson | Unopposed | Elected | ||
| Lake | Conway Harvey | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Mombasa | Percival Clarke | Elected | |||
| Alexander Morrison | |||||
| Nairobi North | Hamilton Ward | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Nairobi South | Helmuth Schwartze | Elected | |||
| James Riddell | |||||
| Thomas Wood | Defeated | ||||
| Plateau North | John Coney | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Plateau South | Thomas O'Shea | Elected | |||
| George Cruickshank Griffiths | |||||
| Rift Valley | Hugh Cholmondeley | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Ukamba | William Northrup McMillan | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Arab seat | |||||
| Hamed Mohamed bin Issa | Unopposed | Elected | |||
| Source: Kenya Gazette, Hansard | |||||
| Position | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Ex officio members | ||
| Attorney General | Robert William Lyall Grant | |
| Chief Native Commissioner | Gerald Verner Maxwell | |
| Colonial Secretary | Edward Brandis Denham | |
| Commissioner of Customs | Edgar George Bale | |
| Commissioner of Lands | Humphrey Trice Martin | |
| Director of Agriculture | Ernest Harrison | |
| Director of Public Works | Howard Lecky Sikes | |
| Principal Medical Officer | John Langton Gilks | |
| Treasurer | Reginald Clifton Grannum | |
| Uganda Railway General Manager | Godfrey Dean Rhodes | |
| Appointed officials | ||
| Chief Veterinary Officer | A G Doherty | |
| Conservator of Forests | Edward Battiscombe | |
| Director of Education | James Russell Orr | |
| Director of Land Surveys | Arthur George Baker | |
| Lilawi for the Coast | Ali bin Salim | |
| Officer Commanding Troops | J M Llewellyn | |
| Postmaster General | Thomas Fitzgerald | |
| Senior Commissioner, Kikuyu | John Owen Webley Hope | |
| Senior Commissioner, Nairobi | Francis Stuart Forbes Traill | |
| Solicitor General | Ivan Llewlleyn Owen Gower | |
| Appointed unofficial members | ||
| Member to represent African interests | John Arthur | |
| Source: Hansard[6] | ||
The newly elected Legislative Council met for the first time on 14 May 1924.[7]