St. Paul recorder., 1963-05-16
Nairobd. KenYa
M0yor On US.
Tour; Interviewed

Chicago (ANP) - Although he
declined to say where his SYM
pathies lie between Kenya's two
major political parties, Mayor Of
Nairobi Charles w. Rubia said here
that he believes the Kenya Afri-
can National Union (KANU),
headed by Jomo Kenyatta, will
draw more support in the May
elections than the rival Kenya AZ
rican Democratic Union (KADU),
led by Ronald Ngala.
"A man in my position must not
take a partisan stand" said Rubia,
who is NairobPs first African and
first non-European mayor. He was
appointed last July, not by popular
vote, but by the city council in
which he is an elected alderman.
When questioned about Kenya's
future, the 40-year-old Rubia said
that all the political leaders of the
country have pledged that there
will be no violence when freedom
comes after general elections May
1926. The leader of the winning
party will be named prime minis
ter and will then begin negotia-
tons with Britain for full inde-
pendence.
Commenting on the race prob
lem in the United States, Rubia
said the people of Africa feel
friendly toward the us. because
of the help being offered by this
country, but they cannot under
stand why a civilized major coun-
try like the us. practices segre-
cation.
Rubia said Kenya, a British
Crown colony and protectorate,
will be as peaceful as any other
country when it obtains independ-
ence later this year, adding that
neither white persons nor other |
minorities will be harmed. There |
will be no thuggery, no trouble"
he emphasized.
The Nairobi mayor, who is MAX |
ing a two-month tour of the United |
States as part of the State De-
partment's cultural exchange pro-
gram, said he wanted to correct |
IAN erroneous impression Amer
leans may have that Nairobi is not |
a safe city" He added, with the
pride of mayors the world over:
"Nairobi is as safe as any peace
full city in the world. People can
move about my city at night free
ly. Any impression to the contrary
is just not true"
Speaking at a press conference
at the Institute of International
Education, Mayor Rubia said:
Tribal conflict between the two
major political parties is Kenya |
is not as severe as people here be-
lieve.
Racial tension is also not as
great as people here tend to be-
lieve. AS Kenya moves toward in
dependence, toward internal self
government, racial relations are
showing marked improvement"
Rubia's views on the lessening
of racial tensions in Kenya were
similar to those of other Kenya
leaders who have recently visited
in the us.
On the matter of general segre-
cation, Rubia said it is not prac-
ticed in Nairobi, except for private
clubs. However, because of econ
omic conditions many Africans
cannot afford to enjoy many of
the privileges enjoyed by Euro
peans, he said.
Regarding communism, Rubia
said 1t doesn't exist in his country.
There is no Communist Party and
Kenyans don't even know what it
is except for a vague idea about
everyone being equal. He said he
feels communism is foreign to
their society because Africans like
to own property.
While in Chicago, Rubia took a
look at the mayoral election cam
paign and felt somewhat at home
politically. He said the elect-so-
and-so signs, placards, buttons and
speeches were not a novelty in
Kenya. I'VE even have torchlight
he said.
Although English is the official
language, the Kenya politicians
also in Swal1iH, Hindu
stani and in 40 regional dialects.
The three voting blocs are Afri-
cans, Asians and Europeans. Be
cause Of Kenya's high illiteracy
rate, candidates have individual
symbols - such as a lion, an air
plane, a fork - unrelated to their
political parties, the mayor said. !,
Rubia said candidates have to
pubIcize both their names and
their symbols, and both the name
and the symbol have to appear on
TIA ballet - "a Nrninohun onn nnn