109-596: The Prime Minister of Kenya was a post in the Kenyan government. The first Prime Minister of Kenya was H.E. Jomo Kenyatta , who became Prime Minister in 1963. In 1964, when Kenya became a republic , the post of Prime Minister was abolished and Jomo Kenyatta became president . Following a power-sharing agreement in February 2008, the role was recreated in April 2008 and held by H.E. Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga E.G.H. The position
218-464: A Christian name for his upcoming baptism, he first chose both John and Peter after Jesus' apostles . Forced by the missionaries to choose just one, he chose Johnstone, the -stone chosen as a reference to Peter. Accordingly, he was baptized as Johnstone Kamau in August 1914. After his baptism, Kenyatta moved out of the mission dormitory and lived with friends. Having completed his apprenticeship to
327-512: A Gold Coast (Ghanaian) who arrived in Britain earlier that year. Kenyatta spoke at the conference, although made no particular impact on the proceedings. Much of the debate that took place centred on whether indigenous Africans should continue pursuing a gradual campaign for independence or whether they should seek the military overthrow of the European imperialists. The conference ended with
436-500: A one-party state , he transferred regional powers to his central government, suppressed political dissent, and prohibited KANU's only rival— Oginga Odinga 's leftist Kenya People's Union —from competing in elections. He promoted reconciliation between the country's indigenous ethnic groups and its European minority, although his relations with the Kenyan Indians were strained and Kenya's army clashed with Somali separatists in
545-746: A "Kenya Plan" which proposed greater white settlement in Kenya, bringing Tanganyika into the British Empire, and incorporating it within their new British East African Dominion. In April 1950, Kenyatta was present at a joint meeting of KAU and the East African Indian National Congress in which they both expressed opposition to the Kenya Plan. By 1952, Kenyatta was widely recognized as a national leader, both by his supporters and by his opponents. As KAU leader, he
654-991: A "scapegoat", while the historian A. B. Assensoh later suggested that the authorities "knew very well" that Kenyatta was not involved in the Mau Mau, but that they were nevertheless committed to silencing his calls for independence. The trial took place in Kapenguria , a remote area near the Ugandan border that the authorities hoped would not attract crowds or attention. Together, Kenyatta, Bildad Kaggia , Fred Kubai , Paul Ngei , Achieng Oneko and Kung'u Karumba —the " Kapenguria Six "—were put on trial. The defendants assembled an international and multiracial team of defence lawyers, including Chaman Lall , H. O. Davies , F. R. S. De Souza , and Dudley Thompson , led by British barrister and Member of Parliament Denis Nowell Pritt . Pritt's involvement brought much media attention; during
763-872: A certificate in English writing. In Britain, Kenyatta befriended an Afro-Caribbean Marxist, George Padmore , who was working for the Soviet-run Comintern . Over time, he became Padmore's protégé. In late 1932, he joined Padmore in Germany. Before the end of the year, the duo relocated to Moscow, where Kenyatta studied at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East . There he was taught arithmetic, geography, natural science, and political economy, as well as Marxist-Leninist doctrine and
872-481: A coalition government in 28 February 2008. Kibaki was to remain the head of state, while Odinga would have a new role of Prime Minister. Both would appoint half the cabinet. Both leading coalitions produced a Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Musalia Mudavadi for ODM , and Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta for PNU . The prime minister office was reestablished through the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008 . The post
981-769: A colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and a conservative , he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party from 1961 until his death. Kenyatta was born to Kikuyu farmers in Kiambu , British East Africa . Educated at a mission school , he worked in various jobs before becoming politically engaged through the Kikuyu Central Association . In 1929, he travelled to London to lobby for Kikuyu land affairs. During
1090-629: A homestead near River Thiririka, where they raised crops and bred sheep and goats. Muigai was sufficiently wealthy that he could afford to keep several wives, each living in a separate nyũmba (woman's hut). Kenyatta was raised according to traditional Kikuyu custom and belief, and was taught the skills needed to herd the family flock. When he was 10 years old, his earlobes were pierced to mark his transition from childhood. Wambui subsequently bore another son, Kongo, shortly before Muigai died. In keeping with Kikuyu tradition, Wambui then married her late husband's younger brother, Ngengi. Kenyatta then took
1199-521: A letter published in The Manchester Guardian . He also wrote the entry on Kenya for Negro , an anthology edited by Nancy Cunard and published in 1934. In these, he took a more radical position than he had in the past, calling for complete self-rule in Kenya. In doing so he was virtually alone among political Kenyans; figures like Thuku and Jesse Kariuki were far more moderate in their demands. The pro-independence sentiments that he
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#17327918827161308-408: A martyr for the anti-colonialist cause. They thought it better that he be convicted and imprisoned, although at the time had nothing to charge him with, and so began searching his personal files for evidence of criminal activity. Eventually, they charged him and five senior KAU members with masterminding the Mau Mau, a proscribed group. The historian John M. Lonsdale stated that Kenyatta had been made
1417-451: A regular at the village pub, where he gained the nickname "Jumbo". In August 1940, he took a job at a local farm as an agricultural worker—allowing him to evade military conscription —before working in the tomato greenhouses at Lindfield . He attempted to join the local Home Guard , but was turned down. On 11 May 1942 he married an English woman, Edna Grace Clarke, at Chanctonbury Registry Office . In August 1943, their son, Peter Magana,
1526-522: A request to return to Kenya in September 1946, sailing back that month. He decided not to bring Edna—who was pregnant with a second child —with him, aware that if they joined him in Kenya their lives would be made very difficult by the colony's racial laws. On his arrival in Mombasa, Kenyatta was greeted by his first wife, Grace Wahu and their children. He built a bungalow at Gatundu , near to where he
1635-543: A right to a direct say in the running of our country and to education." —Kenyatta, during World War II After the United Kingdom entered World War II in September 1939, Kenyatta and Stock moved to the Sussex village of Storrington . Kenyatta remained there for the duration of the war, renting a flat and a small plot of land to grow vegetables and raise chickens. He settled into rural Sussex life, and became
1744-409: A skin cloak over one shoulder and carrying a spear. The book was published under the name "Jomo Kenyatta", the first time that he had done so; the term Jomo was close to a Kikuyu word describing the removal of a sword from its scabbard. Facing Mount Kenya was a commercial failure, selling only 517 copies, but was generally well received; an exception was among white Kenyans, whose assumptions about
1853-454: A speaking tour in which he denounced the Mau Mau to assembled crowds, insisting that independence must be achieved through peaceful means. In August he attended a much-publicised mass meeting in Kiambu where—in front of 30,000 people—he said that "Mau Mau has spoiled the country. Let Mau Mau perish forever. All people should search for Mau Mau and kill it." Despite Kenyatta's vocal opposition to
1962-634: A statement declaring that while delegates desired a peaceful transition to African self-rule, Africans "as a last resort, may have to appeal to force in the effort to achieve Freedom". Kenyatta supported this resolution, although was more cautious than other delegates and made no open commitment to violence. He subsequently authored an IASB pamphlet, Kenya: The Land of Conflict , in which he blended political calls for independence with romanticised descriptions of an idealised pre-colonial African past. After British victory in World War II, Kenyatta received
2071-566: A student, studying an English course between January and July 1935 and then a phonetics course from October 1935 to June 1936. Enabled by a grant from the International African Institute , he also took a social anthropology course under Bronisław Malinowski at the London School of Economics (LSE). Kenyatta lacked the qualifications normally required to join the course, but Malinowski was keen to support
2180-511: A topic of strong debate in Kikuyu society. The Protestant churches, backed by European medics and the colonial authorities, supported the abolition of this traditional practice , but the KCA rallied to its defence, claiming that its abolition would damage the structure of Kikuyu society. Anger between the two sides had heightened, several churches expelling KCA members from their congregations, and it
2289-814: A wider pan-Africanist organisation, the International African Service Bureau (IASB), of which Kenyatta became one of the vice chairs. Kenyatta began giving anti-colonial lectures across Britain for groups like the IASB, the Workers' Educational Association , Indian National Congress of Great Britain , and the League of Coloured Peoples . In October 1938, he gave a talk to the Manchester Fabian Society in which he described British colonial policy as fascism and compared
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#17327918827162398-406: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta CGH ( c. 1897 – 22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti- colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from
2507-407: Is elected by popular vote in the general election held in the month of August every five years. For a presidential candidate to be declared the winner, they must have: The official residence of the president of Kenya is State House , Nairobi . The wife of the president is referred to as the first lady of Kenya . A president is eligible for two consecutive terms of five years each, starting from
2616-628: Is no evidence that he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , and one of his fellow students later characterised him as "the biggest reactionary I have ever met." Kenyatta also visited Siberia , probably as part of an official guided tour. The emergence of Germany's Nazi government shifted political allegiances in Europe; the Soviet Union pursued formal alliances with France and Czechoslovakia, and thus reduced its support for
2725-586: The Commonwealth of Nations , espousing a pro- Western and anti-communist foreign policy amid the Cold War . Kenyatta died in office and was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi . Kenyatta's son Uhuru later also became president. Kenyatta was a controversial figure. Prior to Kenyan independence, many of its white settlers regarded him as an agitator and malcontent, although across Africa he gained widespread respect as an anti-colonialist. During his presidency, he
2834-670: The Hilton Young Commission , which was then considering a federation between Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika . In June, he was part of a KCA team which appeared before a select committee of the Kenyan Legislative Council to express concerns about the recent introduction of Land Boards. Introduced by the British Governor of Kenya , Edward Grigg , these Land Boards would hold all land in native reserves in trust for each tribal group. Both
2943-522: The Kikuyu Central Association (KCA). Beauttah took Kenyatta to a political meeting in Pumwani , although this led to no firm involvement at the time. In either 1925 or early 1926, Beauttah moved to Uganda, but remained in contact with Kenyatta. When the KCA wrote to Beauttah and asked him to travel to London as their representative, he declined, but recommended that Kenyatta—who had a good command of English—go in his place. Kenyatta accepted, probably on
3052-587: The Kilimani neighbourhood of Nairobi, although he financed the construction of a second home at Dagoretti; he referred to this latter hut as the Kinyata Stores for he used it to hold general provisions for the neighborhood. He had sufficient funds that he could lend money to European clerks in the offices, and could enjoy the lifestyle offered by Nairobi, which included cinemas, football matches, and imported British fashions. Anti-imperialist sentiment
3161-680: The League Against Imperialism , Fenner Brockway , and Kingsley Martin . Grigg was in London at the same time and, despite his opposition to Kenyatta's visit, agreed to meet with him at the Rhodes Trust headquarters in April. At the meeting, Kenyatta raised the land issue and Thuku's exile, the atmosphere between the two being friendly. In spite of this, following the meeting, Grigg convinced Special Branch to monitor Kenyatta. Kenyatta developed contacts with radicals to
3270-600: The North Eastern Province during the Shifta War . His government pursued capitalist economic policies and the "Africanisation" of the economy, prohibiting non-citizens from controlling key industries. Education and healthcare were expanded, while UK-funded land redistribution favoured KANU loyalists and exacerbated ethnic tensions. Under Kenyatta, Kenya joined the Organisation of African Unity and
3379-691: The Student Movement House in Russell Square , which he had joined in the spring of 1934, and befriended Africans in the city. To earn money, he worked as one of 250 black extras in the film Sanders of the River , filmed at Shepperton Studios in Autumn 1934. Several other Africans in London criticized him for doing so, arguing that the film degraded black people. Appearing in the film also allowed him to meet and befriend its star,
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3488-538: The "Saviour", "Great Elder", and "Hero of Our Race". He was nevertheless aware that to achieve independence, KAU needed the support of other indigenous tribes and ethnic groups. This was made difficult by the fact that many Maasai and Luo —tribes traditionally hostile to the Kikuyu—regarded him as an advocate of Kikuyu dominance. He insisted on intertribal representation on the KAU executive and ensured that party business
3597-473: The 1930s, he studied at Moscow 's Communist University of the Toilers of the East , University College London , and the London School of Economics . In 1938, he published an anthropological study of Kikuyu life before working as a farm labourer in Sussex during the Second World War . Influenced by his friend George Padmore , he embraced anti-colonialist and Pan-African ideas, co-organising
3706-594: The 1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester . He returned to Kenya in 1946 and became a school principal. In 1947, he was elected President of the Kenya African Union , through which he lobbied for independence from British colonial rule, attracting widespread indigenous support but animosity from white settlers . In 1952, he was among the Kapenguria Six arrested and charged with masterminding
3815-591: The African-American Paul Robeson . In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia (Abyssinia) , incensing Kenyatta and other Africans in London; he became the honorary secretary of the International African Friends of Abyssinia , a group established by Padmore and C. L. R. James . When Ethiopia's monarch Haile Selassie fled to London in exile, Kenyatta personally welcomed him at Waterloo station . This group developed into
3924-604: The British imperialists either by paying taxes or obeying any of their slave laws! We can fight in unity with the workers and toilers of the whole world, and for a Free Africa." —Kenyatta in the Labour Monthly , November 1933 In May 1931, Kenyatta and Parmenas Githendu Mockerie sailed for Britain, intent on representing the KCA at a Joint Committee of Parliament on the future of East Africa. Kenyatta would not return to Kenya for fifteen years. In Britain, he spent
4033-669: The Church Mission Society. His landlord subsequently impounded his belongings due to unpaid debt. In the city, Kenyatta met with W. McGregor Ross at the Royal Empire Society , Ross briefing him on how to deal with the Colonial Office. Kenyatta became friends with Ross' family, and accompanied them to social events in Hampstead . He also contacted anti-imperialists active in Britain, including
4142-518: The Church of Scotland in Kenya—later expelled Kenyatta from the church, citing what he deemed dishonesty during the debate. In 1931, Kenyatta took his son out of the church school at Thogota and enrolled him in a KCA-approved, independent school. "With the support of all revolutionary workers and peasants we must redouble our efforts to break the bonds that bind us. We must refuse to give any support to
4251-612: The KCA and the Kikuyu Association opposed these Land Boards, which treated Kikuyu land as collectively-owned rather than recognising individual Kikuyu land ownership. Also in February, his daughter, Wambui Margaret, was born. By this point he was increasingly using the name "Kenyatta", which had a more African appearance than "Johnstone". In May 1928, the KCA launched a Kikuyu-language magazine, Mũigwithania (roughly translated as "The Reconciler" or "The Unifier"), in which it published news, articles, and homilies. Its purpose
4360-434: The Kikuyu being primitive savages in need of European civilization it challenged. Murray-Brown later described it as "a propaganda tour de force . No other African had made such an uncompromising stand for tribal integrity." Bodil Folke Frederiksen, a scholar of development studies , referred to it as "probably the most well-known and influential African scholarly work of its time", while for fellow scholar Simon Gikandi, it
4469-404: The Kikuyu community who did not support them. By 1959, the Mau Mau had killed around 1,880 people. For many young Mau Mau militants, Kenyatta was regarded as a hero, and they included his name in the oaths they gave to the organisation; such oathing was a Kikuyu custom by which individuals pledged allegiance to another. Kenyatta publicly distanced himself from the Mau Mau. In April 1952, he began
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4578-600: The Kikuyu—following World War I, among them the campaigns of Harry Thuku and the East African Association, resulting in the government massacre of 21 native protesters in March 1922. Kenyatta had not taken part in these events, perhaps so as not to disrupt his lucrative employment prospects. Kenyatta's interest in politics stemmed from his friendship with James Beauttah , a senior figure in
4687-455: The Mau Mau, KAU had moved towards a position of greater militancy. At its 1951 AGM, more militant African nationalists had taken senior positions and the party officially announced its call for Kenyan independence within three years. In January 1952, KAU members formed a secret Central Committee devoted to direct action, formulated along a cell structure . Whatever Kenyatta's views on these developments, he had little ability to control them. He
4796-649: The Republic of Kenya ( Swahili : Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kenya ) is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Kenya . The president is also the head of the executive branch of the Government of Kenya and is the commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces . The country's current president is William Ruto since 13 September 2022. On 12 December 1964, the Republic of Kenya
4905-603: The Soviet Union, suspecting that he was a Marxist-Leninist, and following his return the MI5 intelligence service intercepted and read all his mail. Kenyatta continued writing articles, reflecting Padmore's influence. Between 1931 and 1937 he wrote several articles for the Negro Worker and joined the newspaper's editorial board in 1933. He also produced an article for a November 1933 issue of Labour Monthly , and in May 1934 had
5014-549: The Thogota Kirk Session and suspended from taking Holy Communion ; the suspension was in response to his drinking and his relations with Wahu out of wedlock. The church insisted that a traditional Kikuyu wedding would be inadequate, and that he must undergo a Christian marriage; this took place on 8 November 1922. Kenyatta had initially refused to cease drinking, but in July 1923 officially renounced alcohol and
5123-533: The anti-colonial Mau Mau Uprising . Although protesting his innocence—a view shared by later historians—he was convicted. He remained imprisoned at Lokitaung until 1959 and was then exiled to Lodwar until 1961. On his release, Kenyatta became President of KANU and led the party to victory in the 1963 general election . As Prime Minister, he oversaw the transition of the Kenya Colony into an independent republic, of which he became president in 1964. Desiring
5232-555: The armed forces, and like other Kikuyu he moved to live among the Maasai , who had refused to fight for the British. Kenyatta lived with the family of an aunt who had married a Maasai chief, adopting Maasai customs and wearing Maasai jewellery, including a beaded belt known as kĩnyata in the Kikuyu language . At some point, he took to calling himself "Kĩnyata" or "Kenyatta" after this garment. In 1917, Kenyatta moved to Narok , where he
5341-469: The book reflected Kenyatta's desire to use anthropology as a weapon against colonialism. In it, Kenyatta challenged the Eurocentric view of history by presenting an image of a golden African past by emphasising the perceived order, virtue, and self-sufficiency of Kikuyu society. Utilising a functionalist framework, he promoted the idea that traditional Kikuyu society had a cohesion and integrity that
5450-466: The carpenter, Kenyatta requested that the mission allow him to be an apprentice stonemason, but they refused. He then requested that the mission recommend him for employment, but the head missionary refused because of an allegation of minor dishonesty. Kenyatta moved to Thika , where he worked for an engineering firm run by the Briton John Cook. In this position, he was tasked with fetching
5559-476: The churches, district commissioners, and chiefs. He also praised the British Empire, stating that: "The first thing [about the Empire] is that all people are governed justly, big or small—equally. The second thing is that nobody is regarded as a slave, everyone is free to do what he or she likes without being hindered." This did not prevent Grigg from writing to the authorities in London requesting permission to shut
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#17327918827165668-573: The college. Under Kenyatta's leadership, additional funds were raised for the construction of school buildings and the number of boys in attendance rose from 250 to 900. It was also beset with problems, including a decline in standards and teachers' strikes over non-payment of wages. Gradually, the number of enrolled pupils fell. Kenyatta built a friendship with Koinange's father, a Senior Chief, who gave Kenyatta one of his daughters to take as his third wife. They had another child, but she died in childbirth. In 1951, he married his fourth wife, Ngina , who
5777-703: The company wages from a bank in Nairobi, 25 miles (40 km) away. Kenyatta left the job when he became seriously ill; he recuperated at a friend's house in the Tumutumu Presbyterian mission. At the time, the British Empire was engaged in the First World War , and the British Army had recruited many Kikuyu. One of those who joined was Kongo, who disappeared during the conflict; his family never learned of his fate. Kenyatta did not join
5886-426: The condition that the Association matched his pre-existing wage. He thus became the group's secretary. It is likely that the KCA purchased a motorbike for Kenyatta, which he used to travel around Kikuyuland and neighbouring areas inhabited by the Meru and Embu , helping to establish new KCA branches. In February 1928, he was part of a KCA party that visited Government House in Nairobi to give evidence in front of
5995-501: The constitutional process and discourage violence and extremism. After eighteen months in Europe, Kenyatta had run out of money. The Anti-Slavery Society advanced him funds to pay off his debts and return to Kenya. Although Kenyatta enjoyed life in London and feared arrest if he returned home, he sailed back to Mombasa in September 1930. On his return, his prestige among the Kikuyu was high because of his time spent in Europe. In his absence, female genital mutilation (FGM) had become
6104-457: The country, including to groups of East African soldiers stationed in Britain. He became frustrated by the distance between him and Kenya, telling Edna that he felt "like a general separated by 5000 miles from his troops". While he was absent, Kenya's authorities banned the KCA in 1940. Kenyatta and other senior IASB members began planning the fifth Pan-African Congress , held in Manchester in October 1945. They were assisted by Kwame Nkrumah ,
6213-412: The court, Kenyatta stated that he and the others did not recognise the judge's findings; they claimed that the government had used them as scapegoats as a pretext to shut down KAU. The historian Wunyabari O. Maloba later characterised it as "a rigged political trial with a predetermined outcome". The government followed the verdict with a wider crackdown, banning KAU in June 1953, and closing down most of
6322-401: The current Constitution , if a person wishes to be elected as president, the following qualifications must be met: A candidate will be disqualified to run for presidency if they have allegiance to a foreign state or is working for the government in any capacity as a public officer. Being a public officer is not applicable to the incumbent president if running for a second term. The president
6431-407: The customs without knowing the part they play in the life of the Kikuyu ... They upset the life of the people." —Kenyatta, in a BBC interview, 1963 In November 1909, Kenyatta left home and enrolled as a pupil at the Church of Scotland Mission (CSM) at Thogoto . The missionaries were zealous Christians who believed that bringing Christianity to the indigenous peoples of Eastern Africa
6540-428: The date the president is sworn in. The following is a summary of the roles of the president of Kenya as provided in the Constitution of Kenya : The responsibilities of the president are summarised as follows: Additionally, a person serving as president has legal immunity , with the exception of crimes under treaties to which Kenya is party with provisions that prohibit such immunity. As with most other countries,
6649-430: The history of the Marxist-Leninist movement. Many Africans and members of the African diaspora were attracted to the institution because it offered free education and the opportunity to study in an environment where they were treated with dignity, free from the institutionalised racism present in the U.S. and British Empire. Kenyatta complained about the food, accommodation, and poor quality of English instruction. There
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#17327918827166758-442: The independent schools in the country, including Kenyatta's. It appropriated his land at Gatundu and demolished his house. Kenyatta and the others were returned to Lokitaung, where they resided on remand while awaiting the results of the appeal process. Pritt pointed out that Thacker had been appointed magistrate for the wrong district, a technicality voiding the whole trial; the Supreme Court of Kenya concurred and Kenyatta and
6867-453: The latter in his role as a traditional healer . "Missionaries have done a lot of good work because it was through the missionary that many of the Kikuyu got their first education ... and were able to learn how to read and write ... Also, the medical side of it: the missionary did very well. At the same time I think the missionaries ... did not understand the value of the African custom, and many of them tried to stamp out some of
6976-412: The latter's case in a land dispute before a Nairobi court. Desiring a wife, Kenyatta entered a relationship with Grace Wahu , who had attended the CMS School in Kabete ; she initially moved into Kenyatta's family homestead, although she joined Kenyatta in Dagoretti when Ngengi drove her out. On 20 November 1920 she gave birth to Kenyatta's son, Peter Muigui. In October 1920, Kenyatta was called before
7085-459: The left of the Labour Party , including several communists . In the summer of 1929, he left London and traveled by Berlin to Moscow before returning to London in October. Kenyatta was strongly influenced by his time in the Soviet Union . Back in England, he wrote three articles on the Kenyan situation for the Communist Party of Great Britain 's newspapers, the Daily Worker and Sunday Worker . In these, his criticism of British imperialism
7194-453: The lower courts, ruling that, "The Constitution Amendment Bill of 2020 is unconstitutional," because President Kenyatta [Uhuru] initiated the amendments through his creation of the Presidential Taskforce on Building Bridges to Unity Advisory, and vocal endorsement of the legislation crafted based on their findings. This article about African politics is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Kenya related article
7303-451: The magazine down. After the KCA raised sufficient funds, in February 1929 Kenyatta sailed from Mombasa to Britain. Grigg's administration could not stop Kenyatta's journey but asked London's Colonial Office not to meet with him. He initially stayed at the West African Students' Union premises in West London , where he met Ladipo Solanke . He then lodged with a prostitute; both this and Kenyatta's lavish spending brought concern from
7412-436: The majority in the House of Representatives; the prime minister would be head of government; Jomo Kenyatta was elected as the first prime minister of Kenya in 27 May 1963. The prime minister office was only effective up to 12 December 1964, before Kenya became a republic; Kenyatta became president. Following the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis , H.E. the late President Mwai Kibaki and Hon. Raila Odinga reached an agreement to form
7521-491: The movement against British and French colonial rule in Africa. As a result, Comintern disbanded the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers , with which both Padmore and Kenyatta were affiliated. Padmore resigned from the Soviet Communist Party in protest, and was subsequently vilified in the Soviet press. Both Padmore and Kenyatta left the Soviet Union, the latter returning to London in August 1933. The British authorities were highly suspicious of Kenyatta's time in
7630-469: The name of Kamau wa Ngengi ("Kamau, son of Ngengi"). Wambui bore her new husband a son, whom they also named Muigai. Ngengi was harsh and resentful toward the three boys, and Wambui decided to take her youngest son to live with her parental family further north. It was there that she died, and Kenyatta—who was very fond of the younger Muigai—travelled to collect his infant half-brother. Kenyatta then moved in with his grandfather, Kongo wa Magana, and assisted
7739-484: The other KAU members—now calling themselves the "National Democratic Party"—on the other. In one incident, one of his rivals made an unsuccessful attempt to stab Kenyatta at breakfast. Kenyatta's health had deteriorated in prison; manacles had caused problems for his feet and he had eczema across his body. Kenyatta's imprisonment transformed him into a political martyr for many Kenyans, further enhancing his status. A Luo anti-colonial activist, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga ,
7848-780: The others were freed in July 1953, only to be immediately re-arrested. The government took the case to the East African Court of Appeal , which reversed the Supreme Court's decision in August. The appeals process resumed in October 1953, and in January 1954 the Supreme Court upheld the convictions against all but Oneko. Pritt finally took the case to the Privy Council in London, but they refused his petition without providing an explanation. He later noted that this
7957-439: The participation of indigenous peoples in anthropological research. For Kenyatta, acquiring an advanced degree would bolster his status among Kenyans and display his intellectual equality with white Europeans in Kenya. Over the course of his studies, Kenyatta and Malinowski became close friends. Fellow course-mates included the anthropologists Audrey Richards , Lucy Mair , and Elspeth Huxley . Another of his fellow LSE students
8066-502: The patronising way many of the British missionaries treated them. Kenyatta's academic progress was unremarkable, and in July 1912 he became an apprentice to the mission's carpenter. That year, he professed his dedication to Christianity and began undergoing catechism . In 1913, he underwent the Kikuyu circumcision ritual; the missionaries generally disapproved of this custom, but it was an important aspect of Kikuyu tradition, allowing Kenyatta to be recognized as an adult. Asked to take
8175-412: The president of Kenya has a presidential standard to signify their status as the country's head of state and government. Its design is generally based on the country's national flag , although the president has some leeway to customise its appearance. The flag is generally displayed in notable locations associated with the president, usually alongside the national flag, such as the president's offices and
8284-411: The referendum. A similar office, that of Prime Cabinet Secretary , was established by Executive Order No. 1 of 2022 on 27 September 2022. In 1 June 1963, Dominion of Kenya had her first prime minister. The head of state remained Queen Elizabeth II who was represented through a governor-general in Kenya. The governor-general could then select a prime minister from whichever political party that had
8393-669: The summer attending an Independent Labour Party summer school and Fabian Society gatherings. In June, he visited Geneva , Switzerland to attend a Save the Children conference on African children. In November, he met the Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi while in London. That month, he enrolled in the Woodbrooke Quaker College in Birmingham , where he remained until the spring of 1932, attaining
8502-407: The then colonial Governor Evelyn Baring . The prosecution failed to produce any strong evidence that Kenyatta or the other accused had any involvement in managing the Mau Mau. In April 1953, Judge Thacker found the defendants guilty. He sentenced them to seven years' hard labour , to be followed by indefinite restriction preventing them from leaving a given area without permission. In addressing
8611-683: The treatment of indigenous people in East Africa to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany . In response to these activities, the British Colonial Office reopened their file on him, although could not find any evidence that he was engaged in anything sufficiently seditious to warrant prosecution. Kenyatta assembled the essays on Kikuyu society written for Malinowski's class and published them as Facing Mount Kenya in 1938. Featuring an introduction written by Malinowski,
8720-541: The trial he faced government harassment and was sent death threats. The judge selected, Ransley Thacker , had recently retired from the Supreme Court of Kenya ; the government knew he would be sympathetic to their case and gave him £20,000 to oversee it. The trial lasted five months: Rawson Macharia , the main prosecution witness, turned out to have perjured himself; the judge had only recently been awarded an unusually large pension and maintained secret contact with
8829-649: Was Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark , who invited Kenyatta to stay with him and his mother, Princess Marie Bonaparte , in Paris during the spring of 1936. Kenyatta returned to his former dwellings at 95 Cambridge Street, but did not pay his landlady for over a year, owing over £100 in rent. This angered Ross and contributed to the breakdown of their friendship. He then rented a Camden Town flat with his friend Dinah Stock, whom he had met at an anti-imperialist rally in Trafalgar Square . Kenyatta socialised at
8938-734: Was "one of the major texts in what has come to be known as the invention of tradition in colonial Africa". "In the last war 300,000 of my people fought in the British Army to drive the Germans from East Africa and 60,000 of them lost their lives. In this war large numbers of my people have been fighting to smash fascist power in Africa and have borne some of the hardest fights against the Italians. Surely if we are considered fit enough to take our rifles and fight side by side with white men we have
9047-542: Was able to express in Britain would not have been permitted in Kenya itself. Between 1935 and 1937, Kenyatta worked as a linguistic informant for the Phonetics Department at University College London (UCL); his Kikuyu voice recordings assisted Lilias Armstrong 's production of The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu . The book was published under Armstrong's name, although Kenyatta claimed he should have been listed as co-author. He enrolled at UCL as
9156-492: Was abolished in 2013 after the current Constitution of Kenya was effected, which did not provide for the office of Prime Minister, making Kenya a purely presidential system. Efforts have been initiated to reintroduced the office through constitutional amendment through the Building Bridges Initiative constitutional referendum attempt . On 31 March 2022, the Supreme Court of Kenya upheld the rulings of
9265-502: Was again abolished by the 2010 Constitution after the 2013 elections . The proposed 2021 constitutional referendum would have decided whether to constitutionally reestablish the office. The process of the proposed amendments to the constitution, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Kenya On 31 March 2022. The court also barred the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission from proceeding with
9374-423: Was allowed to return to Holy Communion. In April 1922, Kenyatta began working as a stores clerk and meter reader for Cook, who had been appointed water superintendent for Nairobi's municipal council. He earned 250/= ( £12/10/– , equivalent to £862 in 2023) a month, a particularly high wage for a native African, which brought him financial independence and a growing sense of self-confidence. Kenyatta lived in
9483-407: Was arrested and driven to Nairobi, where he was taken aboard a plane and flown to Lokitaung , northwest Kenya, one of the most remote locations in the country. From there he wrote to his family to let them know of his situation. Kenya's authorities believed that detaining Kenyatta would help quell civil unrest. Many white settlers wanted him exiled, but the government feared this would turn him into
9592-487: Was at pains to oppose all illegal activity, including workers' strikes. He called on his supporters to work hard, and to abandon laziness, theft, and crime. He also insisted that in an independent Kenya, all racial groups would be safeguarded. Kenyatta's gradualist and peaceful approach contrasted with the growth of the Mau Mau Uprising , as armed guerrilla groups began targeting the white minority and members of
9701-487: Was better than anything offered by European colonialism. In this book, Kenyatta made clear his belief that the rights of the individual should be downgraded in favour of the interests of the group. The book also reflected his changing views on female genital mutilation; where once he opposed it, he now unequivocally supported the practice, downplaying the medical dangers that it posed to women. The book's jacket cover featured an image of Kenyatta in traditional dress, wearing
9810-411: Was born with the name Kamau in the small rural village of Ngenda. Birth records were not then kept among the Kikuyu, and Kenyatta's date of birth is not known. One biographer, Jules Archer, suggested he was likely born in 1890 or 1891, although a fuller analysis by Jeremy Murray-Brown suggested a birth c. 1897 or 1898 . Kenyatta's father was named Muigai, and his mother Wambui. They lived in
9919-612: Was born, and began farming his 32-acre estate. Kenyatta met with the new Governor of Kenya, Philip Euen Mitchell , and in March 1947 accepted a post on an African Land Settlement Board, holding the post for two years. He also met with Mbiyu Koinange to discuss the future of the Koinange Independent Teachers' College in Githungui, Koinange appointing Kenyatta as its Vice-Principal. In May 1947, Koinange moved to England, leaving Kenyatta to take full control of
10028-558: Was born. Intelligence services continued monitoring Kenyatta, noting that he was politically inactive between 1939 and 1944. In Sussex, he wrote an essay for the United Society for Christian Literature, My People of Kikuyu and the Life of Chief Wangombe , in which he called for his tribe's political independence. He also began—although never finished—a novel partly based on his life experiences. He continued to give lectures around
10137-517: Was conducted in Swahili , the lingua franca of indigenous Kenyans. To attract support from Kenya's Indian community, he made contact with Jawaharlal Nehru , the first Prime Minister of the new Indian republic. Nehru's response was supportive, sending a message to Kenya's Indian minority reminding them that they were the guests of the indigenous African population. Relations with the white minority remained strained; for most white Kenyans, Kenyatta
10246-439: Was despite the fact his case was one of the strongest he had ever presented during his career. According to Murray-Brown, it is likely that political, rather than legal considerations, informed their decision to reject the case. During the appeal process, a prison had been built at Lokitaung, where Kenyatta and the four others were then interned. The others were made to break rocks in the hot sun but Kenyatta, because of his age,
10355-695: Was far stronger than it had been in Muĩgwithania . These communist links concerned many of Kenyatta's liberal patrons. In January, Kenyatta met with Drummond Shiels , the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies , at the House of Commons . Kenyatta told Shiels that he was not affiliated with communist circles and was unaware of the nature of the newspaper which published his articles. Shiels advised Kenyatta to return home to promote Kikuyu involvement in
10464-527: Was given the honorary title of Mzee and lauded as the Father of the Nation , securing support from both the black majority and the white minority with his message of reconciliation. Conversely, his rule was criticised as dictatorial, authoritarian , and neocolonial , of favouring Kikuyu over other ethnic groups, and of facilitating the growth of widespread corruption . A member of the Kikuyu people , Kenyatta
10573-624: Was increasingly frustrated, and—without the intellectual companionship he experienced in Britain—felt lonely. "We Africans are in the majority [in Kenya], and we should have self-government. That does not mean we should not take account of whites, provided we have the key position. We want to be friendly with whites. We don't want to be dominated by them." —Kenyatta, quoted by the Daily Express , September 1952 In October 1952, Kenyatta
10682-508: Was instead appointed their cook, preparing a daily diet of beans and posho . In 1955, P. de Robeck became the District Officer, after which Kenyatta and the other inmates were treated more leniently. In April 1954, they had been joined by a captured Mau Mau commander, Waruhiu Itote ; Kenyatta befriended him, and gave him English lessons. By 1957, the inmates had formed into two rival cliques, with Kenyatta and Itote on one side and
10791-571: Was involved in transporting livestock to Nairobi, before relocating to Nairobi to work in a store selling farming and engineering equipment. In the evenings, he took classes in a church mission school. Several months later he returned to Thika before obtaining employment building houses for the Thogota Mission. He also lived for a time in Dagoretti , where he became a retainer for a local sub-chief, Kioi; in 1919 he assisted Kioi in putting
10900-511: Was joined by his wife Ngina. In October 1961, they had another son, Uhuru , and later on another daughter, Nyokabi, and a further son, Muhoho. Kenyatta spent two years in Lodwar. The Governor of Kenya, Patrick Muir Renison , insisted that it was necessary; in a March 1961 speech, he described Kenyatta an "African leader to darkness and death" and stated that if he were released, violence would erupt. President of Kenya The president of
11009-599: Was on the rise among both native and Indian communities in Kenya following the Irish War of Independence and the Russian October Revolution . Many indigenous Africans resented having to carry kipande identity certificates at all times, being forbidden from growing coffee, and paying taxes without political representation. Political upheavals occurred in Kikuyuland—the area inhabited largely by
11118-555: Was one of the few female students at his college; she then gave birth to a daughter. In August 1944, the Kenya African Union (KAU) had been founded; at that time it was the only active political outlet for indigenous Africans in the colony. At its June 1947 annual general meeting , KAU's President James Gichuru stepped down and Kenyatta was elected as his replacement. Kenyatta began to draw large crowds wherever he travelled in Kikuyuland, and Kikuyu press began describing him as
11227-522: Was part of Britain's civilizing mission. While there, Kenyatta stayed at the small boarding school , where he learnt stories from the Bible , and was taught to read and write in English . He also performed chores for the mission, including washing the dishes and weeding the gardens. He was soon joined at the mission dormitory by his brother Kongo. The longer the pupils stayed, the more they came to resent
11336-406: Was proclaimed, and Jomo Kenyatta became Kenya's first president. Kenya has had a total of five presidents since establishment, in successive order: Jomo Kenyatta , Daniel arap Moi , Mwai Kibaki , Uhuru Kenyatta , and the incumbent, William Ruto , who was inaugurated on 13 September 2022. Moi remains the country's longest serving president, having served for a total of 24 years. According to
11445-467: Was the first to publicly call for Kenyatta's release, an issue that gained growing support among Kenya's anti-colonialists. In 1955, the British writer Montagu Slater —a socialist sympathetic to Kenyatta's plight—released The Trial of Jomo Kenyatta , a book which raised the profile of the case. In 1958, Rawson Macharia, the key witness in the state's prosecution of Kenyatta, signed an affidavit swearing that his evidence against Kenyatta had been false; this
11554-477: Was their principal enemy, an agitator with links to the Soviet Union who had the impertinence to marry a white woman. They too increasingly called for further Kenyan autonomy from the British government, but wanted continued white-minority rule and closer links to the white-minority governments of South Africa, Northern Rhodesia , and Southern Rhodesia ; they viewed Britain's newly elected Labour government with great suspicion. The white Electors' Union put forward
11663-458: Was to help unify the Kikuyu and raise funds for the KCA. Kenyatta was listed as the publication's editor, although Murray-Brown suggested that he was not the guiding hand behind it and that his duties were largely confined to translating into Kikuyu. Aware that Thuku had been exiled for his activism, Kenyatta's took a cautious approach to campaigning, and in Mũigwithania he expressed support for
11772-512: Was widely believed that the January 1930 killing of an American missionary, Hulda Stumpf , had been due to the issue. As Secretary of the KCA, Kenyatta met with church representatives. He expressed the view that although personally opposing FGM, he regarded its legal abolition as counter-productive, and argued that the churches should focus on eradicating the practice through educating people about its harmful effects on women's health. The meeting ended without compromise, and John Arthur —the head of
11881-402: Was widely publicised. By the late 1950s, the imprisoned Kenyatta had become a symbol of African nationalism across the continent. His sentence served, in April 1959 Kenyatta was released from Lokitaung. The administration then placed a restricting order on Kenyatta, forcing him to reside in the remote area of Lodwar , where he had to report to the district commissioner twice a day. There, he
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