JOMO KENYATTA THE MAN
Channel: East Africa Connect
Date: 2021-05-22

Mzee Jomo Kenyatta (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 was the country's first indigenous head of government and played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and conservative, he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party from 1961 until his death. 


Kenya has had four Presidents since she gained independence in 1963. Each one of them has made history and left a legacy of his own. The founding father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was a man with a vision and a mission right from the onset.


His vision was to see Kenya become an independent state liberated from the yolks of the British colonialists and also to achieve pan-Africanism throughout the African continent. 


This dream came to fruition in 1945 when he and other prominent African nationalists like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana helped to organize the fifth Pan-African Congress, something that would play a huge role in Kenya gaining independence in 1963.


"My leadership is not anchored to darkness but to light and prosperity..." - These were the words of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who had a great vision for the new Kenya. So are we living up to Mzee’s vision?