Nomad_Africa_Edition12

Former Isreali Prime Minister - Levy Eshkol and Jomo
Kenyatta at the state house in Nairobi, Kenya on 15 June
1966.
Like many other fellow Kikuyu countrymen, he refused to
fight for the British. Kamau evaded the forced recruitment by
moving to Narok, a town south of Nairobi, where he lived among
the Maasai people, finding employment as a clerk at a local
contractor.
Reconciler" or "The Unifier"), which published
news, articles with the purpose of
unifying Kikuyu people and raising funds
for the KCA.
With certain concerns about the future of its
East African territories, the British Government
began toying with the idea of forming
a union of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika.
Although this idea was fully supported by
white settlers in the Central Highlands, it
would be disastrous to Kikuyu interests as it
was widely believed that settlers would be
given self-government, while the rights of
the Kikuyu would be ignored.
In February 1929, Kenyatta was dispatched
to London to represent the KCA in discussions
with the Colonial Office, but the Secretary
of State for the Colonies refused to
meet him. Undeterred, Kenyatta wrote several
letters to British newspapers, including
The Times, raising awareness among the
colonial power.
Kenyatta returned to Kenya on 24 September
1930 and despite failing in his mission, he
had made progress in requesting for the development
of independent educational institutions
for Kenyans.
Kenyatta returned to Britain to represent
KCA’s grievances. He decided to enroll to
Quaker College after his efforts were ignored
by the Colonial Office. He successfully
completed his studies in 1932, and in August
the same year, he left for Russia to study at
Moscow University after receiving an invitation
from George Padmore who was a radical
West Indian.
However, in 1933 Kenyatta was forced to terminate
his studies and return to Britain after
Padmore had a disagreement with the Russians.
He pursued his studies at the University
College in London and in 1936, he
managed to break through a police cordon
to express his solidarity for Emperor Haile
Selassie from Ethiopia at the London Railway
station.
Kenyatta published ‘Facing Mount Kenya,’
using the name Jomo Kenyatta; and from
then henceforth people embraced Jomo
Kenyatta as his name. Later in October 1945,
Kenyatta joined Kwame Nkrumah from
Ghana to organise the fifth Pan African congress.
In 1944, the Kenya African Union (KAU) came
into being as the only political outlet for indigenous
Africans in the colony. In 1947,
KAU's President James Gichuru stepped
down, creating an opportunity for Kenyatta
to be elected as his replacement.
Proving to be a popular leader and drawing
large crowds wherever he travelled in
Kikuyuland, Kikuyu media described him as
the "Saviour", "Great Elder", and "Hero of Our
Race". With great insight, Kenyatta knew that
in order for independence to be achieved,
KAU as a political party needed the support
of all Kenyan indigenous tribes and ethnic
groups. Kenyatta cleverly insisted on intertribal
representation on the KAU executive,
thereby ensuring that party business was
70 | www.nomadafricamag.com | ...Celebrating the world’s richest continent | Issue 12