The KLFA's membership consisted largely of the Kikuyu people, many of whom had their lands confiscated by British colonial officials and given to white settlers during the early 20th century.

After four years of counterinsurgency operations, British forces managed to largely neutralise the KFLA as a military threat, and Kimathi was captured and executed by the colonial authorities in 1957.

Official numbers state that 11,000 insurgents were killed, though the Kenya Human Rights Commission has estimated that "90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions".

[4] The colonial administration also interned at least 80,000 Kenyans suspected of being affiliated with the KFLA in detention camps, with some estimates of the number of detainees being as high as 320,000 people.

[3] One of the most important achievements of the KFLA was the development of a robust and effective information system that combined oral experiences of ordinary Kenyans with print works.