President Uhuru Kenyatta
addresses members of the
public in Eldoret town on his
way from Recruits Training
School where he presided over
a Recruit’s Passing-Out Parade
on May 28, 2014. Kenya is
grappling with the threats of
insecurity, unresolved land
issues, a weak economy and
disunity as much as it did at
independence, 51 years ago.
In Summary
• With Kenyatta was Kenya’s last governor, Malcolm MacDonald,
wearing a plumed hat and the green colonial- office regalia. Kenyatta wore his beaded beanie
cap, the trademark leather jacket and clasped a silver-headed
fly whisk.
• The first major issue his father inherited was the Somali Question. In 1964, the entire of North Eastern Region boycotted elections
after residents were violently dissuaded not to participate by sec
• In 1964, Jomo Kenyatta inherited an economy that had been weakened by the departure of settlers and foreign investors
who felt that they had no place in the new African-led economy.
On a chilly Monday morning
on June 1, 1963, Jomo Kenyatta
was driven to Nairobi’s
Ministry of Works offices –
now Harambee House where
his inauguration as prime
minister was to take place.
The scene on Coronation
Avenue (present-day
Harambee Avenue) was
ecstatic as Kenyans in the
30,000 strong crowd craned
their necks to catch a glimpse
of their new leader as the
country attained self-governing
status.
With Kenyatta was Kenya’s
last governor, Malcolm
MacDonald, wearing a plumed
hat and the green colonial-
office regalia. Kenyatta wore
his beaded beanie cap, the
trademark leather jacket and
clasped a silver-headed fly
whisk.
The man the British
government had regarded as a
“terrorist” and described as
“the leader unto darkness and
death” was now minutes away
from receiving the mantle
from his tormentors.
Even as he lifted the Bible and
swore allegiance to the Queen,
Kenyatta knew he was
inheriting a politically divided
nation of which economists
had painted a gloomy picture.
The political fear was about
the domination of national
politics by the Kikuyu and the
Luo, who had successfully
united under Kanu, while the
other smaller tribes had
coalesced around Kadu.
Some 51 years later, Kenyatta’s
son, President Uhuru Kenyatta,
finds himself in almost similar
circumstances. He leads the
country in marking Madaraka
Day today when Kenya faces
challenges to national unity,
security, land and the
economy.
SOMALI QUESTION
The first major issue his
father inherited was the
Somali Question. In 1964, the
entire of North Eastern Region
boycotted elections after
residents were violently
dissuaded not to participate by
secessionists.
Nobody was elected to the
nine seats in the region. Even
as Kenyatta became prime
minister, North Eastern
remained a colony of the
British government as the rest
of Kenya prepared for
independence. All the region’s
34 chiefs had resigned en
masse protesting their
inclusion in Kenya.
While Kenyatta faced threats
from the Somalia-backed
Shifta who waged a war of
terror on the administration
and residents in the region,
President Uhuru Kenyatta
today faces threats from
Somalia-based, Al-Qaeda-
backed Al-Shabaab terrorists,
angry about Kenya’s military
intervention in their country
and what they consider
Kenya’s dalliance with
countries interfering in the
Horn of Africa.
In both situations, the two
presidents had to deal with
attacks on both the civilian
and security apparatus.
While Jomo managed to use
Tom Mboya and Oginga
Odinga to bring the Luo
community into Kanu, one of
his first intra-party problems
was the place of Communist-
leaning Odinga in Kenya’s
politics.
While it had been expected
that Kenyatta would appoint
Odinga to a senior position,
most likely his deputy, he
opted not to name a deputy
until Kenya became fully
independent.
Odinga was then accused of
being too close to the Chinese
and branded a Communist
sympathiser who was using
Chinese funding to build a
following. Some senior Kanu
leaders, incited by London,
accused Odinga of organising a
revolution and transferred
most of Odinga’s Home Affairs
ministry portfolio to the Prime
Minister’s office.
The irony is that today, 51
years later, President Uhuru
Kenyatta has publicly declared
he will work closely with the
Chinese government, and last
month, hosted Chinese Prime
Minister Li Keqiang who was
on a whirlwind tour of Africa.
MAIN OPPONENT
The other irony is that
Oginga’s son, former Prime
Minister Raila Odinga, remains
the main opponent of Uhuru’s
government and is today being
seen as the darling of Western
governments. His critics
accuse him of being pro-
Western, favoured over the
Kenyatta-Ruto candidature in
last year’s elections. This was
given credence by American
and EU diplomatic warnings to
Kenyans not to elect Uhuru
and Ruto, who both face
crimes against humanity
charges at the International
Criminal Court.
In 1964, Jomo Kenyatta
inherited an economy that had
been weakened by the
departure of settlers and
foreign investors who felt that
they had no place in the new
African-led economy.
While Kenyatta required at
least £56 million (Sh8.1
billion) to start his promised
battle against poverty,
ignorance and disease, he
could only raise £2.5 million
(Sh361 million) through local
taxation — the rest was to
come from foreign donors.
His son faces the same
predicament. Uhuru is
grappling with raising Sh132
billion in a sovereign bond to
fill the yawning gaps in his
Sh1.6 trillion budget. While
the main worry is about the
badly listing tourism industry,
which is wavering as a result
of travel advisories by the
American and British
authorities, the government is
now turning to domestic
tourism to sustain an industry
that contributes 1.5 per cent
of the GDP. Similar measures
were taken in 1964 as the
investors in tourism sector
decided to leave. The
government started funding
locals to buy the hotels.
Kanu had won the election on
the promise of settling the
land question. The white
settlers owned some eight
million acres in the “White
Highlands” and the first task
that faced Kenyatta was how
to redistribute 1 million acres
under the donor-funded
settlement schemes.
But the senior Kenyatta did
not solve the land question
and only planted seeds of
discord after a skewed
redistribution. Fifty-one years
later, Uhuru is struggling to
resolve the same issue settle
the landless and give out title
deeds.
The boiling point still remains
the former Rift Valley
Province where the Kikuyu
and the Kalenjin have clashed
over land. The other is the
Coast region where huge tracts
of land were not adjudicated
and are held by absentee
landlords. How Uhuru’s
government addresses the
question remains one of his
waking nightmares.
While Kadu had, in 1963,
advocated a federal majimbo
government, Kanu stood for a
single central government
which formed the basis of its
one-finger salute. Today, the
country has opted for a
devolved government.
The only difference is that
while Kenyatta openly
promised to change the
Constitution to abolish
majimbo, Uhuru has openly
said he supports devolved
governments. But like his
father, he has been accused of
strengthening the provincial
administration by appointing
powerful county
commissioners to oversee
security matters at the district
level. The Kenyatta state was
known for using the seven
provincial commissioners who
wielded immense powers.
Uhuru Kenyatta is in office at
a time when statistics show
that foreign direct investment
(FDI) to Kenya has increased.
His father came to power at a
time when there was a mass
exodus of specialist civil
servants, farmers,
industrialists, financiers,
traders, technicians and
professional people, who
constituted the bulk of the
non-African communities.
Kenyatta’s main agenda was to
persuade the nervous white
settlers to stay, and he
addressed the famous Nakuru
meeting, organised by both
Lord Delamere and Agriculture
minister Bruce McKenzie,
where he delivered his
forgive-and-forget speech to
the settlers.
Today, the fear of Kenya’s
divisive politics still hangs on
but mostly along inter-tribe
lines. While in 1963 Kenyatta
had told the nation that
“Kenya is not going to be
another Congo,” the fear of
tribal feuds still exists.
Among some of the settlers,
Kenyatta remained a terrorist.
On July 15, as he attended a
Commonwealth Conference in
London, he was attacked in a
London street outside the
Hilton Hotel by two men –
Martin Webster, 21, and John
Tyndell, 30 — who were
shouting: “This is the man
who murdered our white
brethren in Africa.”
Today, Uhuru Kenyatta walks
into the Madaraka Day rally
facing charges of crimes
against humanity at the ICC.
Like his father, who used the
Kapenguria cases to build his
political portfolio, Uhuru is
accused by his opponents of
using the ICC charges to
galvanise his supporters to
vote him into power last year.
addresses members of the
public in Eldoret town on his
way from Recruits Training
School where he presided over
a Recruit’s Passing-Out Parade
on May 28, 2014. Kenya is
grappling with the threats of
insecurity, unresolved land
issues, a weak economy and
disunity as much as it did at
independence, 51 years ago.
In Summary
• With Kenyatta was Kenya’s last governor, Malcolm MacDonald,
wearing a plumed hat and the green colonial- office regalia. Kenyatta wore his beaded beanie
cap, the trademark leather jacket and clasped a silver-headed
fly whisk.
• The first major issue his father inherited was the Somali Question. In 1964, the entire of North Eastern Region boycotted elections
after residents were violently dissuaded not to participate by sec
• In 1964, Jomo Kenyatta inherited an economy that had been weakened by the departure of settlers and foreign investors
who felt that they had no place in the new African-led economy.
On a chilly Monday morning
on June 1, 1963, Jomo Kenyatta
was driven to Nairobi’s
Ministry of Works offices –
now Harambee House where
his inauguration as prime
minister was to take place.
The scene on Coronation
Avenue (present-day
Harambee Avenue) was
ecstatic as Kenyans in the
30,000 strong crowd craned
their necks to catch a glimpse
of their new leader as the
country attained self-governing
status.
With Kenyatta was Kenya’s
last governor, Malcolm
MacDonald, wearing a plumed
hat and the green colonial-
office regalia. Kenyatta wore
his beaded beanie cap, the
trademark leather jacket and
clasped a silver-headed fly
whisk.
The man the British
government had regarded as a
“terrorist” and described as
“the leader unto darkness and
death” was now minutes away
from receiving the mantle
from his tormentors.
Even as he lifted the Bible and
swore allegiance to the Queen,
Kenyatta knew he was
inheriting a politically divided
nation of which economists
had painted a gloomy picture.
The political fear was about
the domination of national
politics by the Kikuyu and the
Luo, who had successfully
united under Kanu, while the
other smaller tribes had
coalesced around Kadu.
Some 51 years later, Kenyatta’s
son, President Uhuru Kenyatta,
finds himself in almost similar
circumstances. He leads the
country in marking Madaraka
Day today when Kenya faces
challenges to national unity,
security, land and the
economy.
SOMALI QUESTION
The first major issue his
father inherited was the
Somali Question. In 1964, the
entire of North Eastern Region
boycotted elections after
residents were violently
dissuaded not to participate by
secessionists.
Nobody was elected to the
nine seats in the region. Even
as Kenyatta became prime
minister, North Eastern
remained a colony of the
British government as the rest
of Kenya prepared for
independence. All the region’s
34 chiefs had resigned en
masse protesting their
inclusion in Kenya.
While Kenyatta faced threats
from the Somalia-backed
Shifta who waged a war of
terror on the administration
and residents in the region,
President Uhuru Kenyatta
today faces threats from
Somalia-based, Al-Qaeda-
backed Al-Shabaab terrorists,
angry about Kenya’s military
intervention in their country
and what they consider
Kenya’s dalliance with
countries interfering in the
Horn of Africa.
In both situations, the two
presidents had to deal with
attacks on both the civilian
and security apparatus.
While Jomo managed to use
Tom Mboya and Oginga
Odinga to bring the Luo
community into Kanu, one of
his first intra-party problems
was the place of Communist-
leaning Odinga in Kenya’s
politics.
While it had been expected
that Kenyatta would appoint
Odinga to a senior position,
most likely his deputy, he
opted not to name a deputy
until Kenya became fully
independent.
Odinga was then accused of
being too close to the Chinese
and branded a Communist
sympathiser who was using
Chinese funding to build a
following. Some senior Kanu
leaders, incited by London,
accused Odinga of organising a
revolution and transferred
most of Odinga’s Home Affairs
ministry portfolio to the Prime
Minister’s office.
The irony is that today, 51
years later, President Uhuru
Kenyatta has publicly declared
he will work closely with the
Chinese government, and last
month, hosted Chinese Prime
Minister Li Keqiang who was
on a whirlwind tour of Africa.
MAIN OPPONENT
The other irony is that
Oginga’s son, former Prime
Minister Raila Odinga, remains
the main opponent of Uhuru’s
government and is today being
seen as the darling of Western
governments. His critics
accuse him of being pro-
Western, favoured over the
Kenyatta-Ruto candidature in
last year’s elections. This was
given credence by American
and EU diplomatic warnings to
Kenyans not to elect Uhuru
and Ruto, who both face
crimes against humanity
charges at the International
Criminal Court.
In 1964, Jomo Kenyatta
inherited an economy that had
been weakened by the
departure of settlers and
foreign investors who felt that
they had no place in the new
African-led economy.
While Kenyatta required at
least £56 million (Sh8.1
billion) to start his promised
battle against poverty,
ignorance and disease, he
could only raise £2.5 million
(Sh361 million) through local
taxation — the rest was to
come from foreign donors.
His son faces the same
predicament. Uhuru is
grappling with raising Sh132
billion in a sovereign bond to
fill the yawning gaps in his
Sh1.6 trillion budget. While
the main worry is about the
badly listing tourism industry,
which is wavering as a result
of travel advisories by the
American and British
authorities, the government is
now turning to domestic
tourism to sustain an industry
that contributes 1.5 per cent
of the GDP. Similar measures
were taken in 1964 as the
investors in tourism sector
decided to leave. The
government started funding
locals to buy the hotels.
Kanu had won the election on
the promise of settling the
land question. The white
settlers owned some eight
million acres in the “White
Highlands” and the first task
that faced Kenyatta was how
to redistribute 1 million acres
under the donor-funded
settlement schemes.
But the senior Kenyatta did
not solve the land question
and only planted seeds of
discord after a skewed
redistribution. Fifty-one years
later, Uhuru is struggling to
resolve the same issue settle
the landless and give out title
deeds.
The boiling point still remains
the former Rift Valley
Province where the Kikuyu
and the Kalenjin have clashed
over land. The other is the
Coast region where huge tracts
of land were not adjudicated
and are held by absentee
landlords. How Uhuru’s
government addresses the
question remains one of his
waking nightmares.
While Kadu had, in 1963,
advocated a federal majimbo
government, Kanu stood for a
single central government
which formed the basis of its
one-finger salute. Today, the
country has opted for a
devolved government.
The only difference is that
while Kenyatta openly
promised to change the
Constitution to abolish
majimbo, Uhuru has openly
said he supports devolved
governments. But like his
father, he has been accused of
strengthening the provincial
administration by appointing
powerful county
commissioners to oversee
security matters at the district
level. The Kenyatta state was
known for using the seven
provincial commissioners who
wielded immense powers.
Uhuru Kenyatta is in office at
a time when statistics show
that foreign direct investment
(FDI) to Kenya has increased.
His father came to power at a
time when there was a mass
exodus of specialist civil
servants, farmers,
industrialists, financiers,
traders, technicians and
professional people, who
constituted the bulk of the
non-African communities.
Kenyatta’s main agenda was to
persuade the nervous white
settlers to stay, and he
addressed the famous Nakuru
meeting, organised by both
Lord Delamere and Agriculture
minister Bruce McKenzie,
where he delivered his
forgive-and-forget speech to
the settlers.
Today, the fear of Kenya’s
divisive politics still hangs on
but mostly along inter-tribe
lines. While in 1963 Kenyatta
had told the nation that
“Kenya is not going to be
another Congo,” the fear of
tribal feuds still exists.
Among some of the settlers,
Kenyatta remained a terrorist.
On July 15, as he attended a
Commonwealth Conference in
London, he was attacked in a
London street outside the
Hilton Hotel by two men –
Martin Webster, 21, and John
Tyndell, 30 — who were
shouting: “This is the man
who murdered our white
brethren in Africa.”
Today, Uhuru Kenyatta walks
into the Madaraka Day rally
facing charges of crimes
against humanity at the ICC.
Like his father, who used the
Kapenguria cases to build his
political portfolio, Uhuru is
accused by his opponents of
using the ICC charges to
galvanise his supporters to
vote him into power last year.
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