Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika (KUT) is the name onBritishpostage stamps made for use in theBritish colonies ofKenya,Uganda, andTanganyika. The stamps were circulated between 1935 and 1963 by the joint postal service of the three colonies, theEast African Posts and Telecommunications Administration, reconstituted as part of theEast African High Commission from 1948 to 1961, theEast African Common Services Organization from 1961 to 1967, and theEast African Community from 1967 to 1977.[1] Even after independence, the new separate nations continued to use the KUT stamps, and they remained valid for postage until 1977.[2][3]
The first stamps marked Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika were issued in 1935, in the form ofcommon designcommemoratives for theSilver Jubilee of KingGeorge V as well as adefinitive series featuring a profile of the king and local scenes. They replaced stamps marked "East Africa and Uganda Protectorates" and "Kenya and Uganda". The definitives included a dramatic departure from the usualengraved stamps of the period; the 10c and £1 stamp weretypographed and had a silhouette of alion, with color combinations of black/yellow and black/red, respectively.
The same designs were reissued in 1938 with a profile ofGeorge VI. Wartime exigencies forced the use ofsurcharges on fourSouth African stamps in 1941 and 1942, but after the war the usual common types (Peace Issue,Silver Wedding Issue, etc.) resumed.
A definitive series, with new designs, was issued in 1954 for QueenElizabeth, and in 1958 a pair of commemoratives marked the 100th anniversary of the discovery (from a European perspective) of theGreat Lakes of Africa byBurton andSpeke.
A new definitive series in 1960 used simpler and more symbolic designs, and was followed in 1963 by three sets of commemoratives. At this point postal service was taken over by the East African Common Services Organization, which issued commemoratives for the1964 Summer Olympics inscribed "Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar", even though they were never actually used inZanzibar. After Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar to formTanzania, subsequent stamps were inscribed "Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania", with the three names being listed in randomly varying orders.[4]
These stamps were issued in parallel with stamps from each of the newly independent nations. The Common Services Organization continued to issue various commemoratives, at the rate of about 10-12 per year, until early in 1976.
