In February 1957, Africans in Kenya were allowed to vote in elections for the first time. Eight seats in the Legislative Council were set aside for Africans, compared to fourteen for white settlers. The franchise was limited. The seats were few. The power was real for none of the newly elected African members. But the election produced something important: a group of African political leaders who understood how colonial systems worked from the inside. Tom Mboya, Oginga Odinga and others took their seats and began the work of dismantling the system from within.