Aidan Hartley Aidan Hartley

The long and the short of it in Africa

Wearing shorts in Kenya used to be a sign of colonialism, but now they are being reclaimed

The short view: rugby players at Rands Afrikaans University in 1994. [David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images] 
issue 02 July 2022

Kenya

As late as the 1920s, it was believed that Africa’s tropical sun would boil a European’s brains. ‘The direct ray of the sun – almost vertical at all seasons of the year – strikes down on man and beast alike,’ Churchill had written on his visit to East Africa.

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