Wife Swapping and a Notorious Murder: The Story of Kenya's Mysterious Cult | Weekend Special

A magazine feature on the 'Happy Valley' community in Kenya, a group of British officers and high society members who settled in the area in the early 1920s. They lived hedonistic lives with drugs, alcohol, and wife swapping. The leader was Lady Idina Sackville, nicknamed 'The Bolter'. The community disbanded after the murder of Lord Erroll in 1941, for which Sir Jock Broughton was acquitted. Sackville's story inspired a Taylor Swift song.

A weekend magazine feature presents the story of the 'Happy Valley' community in Kenya, a group of British officers and high society members who moved to the mountainous region of the Wando Valley in the early 1920s, after World War I. Encouraged by the London government, they sought to escape the traumas of war and social pressures, and established farms there. The large sums of money they brought allowed them to live without hard work, exploiting cheap local labor. Community life was characterized by drug and alcohol use, wild parties, and wife swapping, earning them worldwide fame and much criticism. The unofficial leader was Lady Idina Sackville, nicknamed 'The Queen', and her home 'Clouds' served as the center of activity. Sackville was known for her liberated lifestyle, five marriages ending in divorce, and receiving guests in a green marble bathtub. Her life was fraught with crises, including losing custody of her children and their deaths in World War II. She passed away in Kenya in 1955 at age 62. The press called her 'The Bolter', and Taylor Swift wrote a song of that name inspired by her story. The community's end came with the murder of Lord Erroll in January 1941, who was having an affair with Diana Broughton, wife of Sir Jock Broughton. Broughton was arrested, tried, and acquitted for lack of evidence. The case remains unsolved. The community disbanded in the early 1950s, paving the way for Kenya's independence.