East Africa joint postal issues

East Africa joint postal issues were postage stamps produced for shared use across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika under a unified postal administration. Administered initially by the joint postal service of the three territories, the East African Posts and Telecommunications Administration, the postal authority was subsequently reconstituted under the East African High Commission, the East African Common Services Organization, and the East African Community. First released in 1935 to replace earlier issues inscribed for the East Africa and Uganda Protectorates or Kenya and Uganda, these joint stamps remained valid for postage until 1977, circulating in parallel with the independent stamps of the separate nations.

The initial 1935 releases comprised common-design commemoratives for the Silver Jubilee of King George V and a definitive series featuring the king's profile alongside local scenes. Departing from the standard engraved stamps of the era, the 10-cent and 1-pound definitive values were typographed, featuring a silhouette of a lion in black and yellow, and black and red, respectively. The series was reissued in 1938 with the portrait of King George VI. Wartime conditions prompted the temporary use of surcharges on four South African stamps between 1941 and 1942, before common omnibus types such as the Peace and Silver Wedding issues resumed.

A new definitive series depicting Queen Elizabeth II was introduced in 1954, followed in 1958 by commemoratives marking the centenary of the European exploration of the Great Lakes by Burton and Speke, and a simpler, symbolic definitive set in 1960. Commemoratives for the 1964 Summer Olympics bore the names Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, and Zanzibar. Following the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar into Tanzania, subsequent joint stamps were inscribed Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania in varying sequences, continuing at a rate of approximately ten to twelve commemoratives annually until early 1976.