jomo kenyatta wives
[407] In June 1967, Kenyatta declared the Chinese Chargé d'Affairs persona non grata in Kenya and recalled the Kenyan ambassador from Peking. Educated at a mission school, he worked in various jobs before becoming politically engaged through the Kikuyu Central Association. His final marriage was to Ngina Kenyatta, who is also frequently known as the first lady of Kenya and the most loved wife Jomo had. [370] Kenyatta himself expanded the land that he owned around Gatundu. [344] In 1965, when Thomas Mboya was minister for economic planning and development, the government issued a session paper titled "African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya", in which it officially declared its commitment to what it called an "African socialist" economic model. Elected in 1963 and named president in 1964, Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya and is still today often referred to as mzee (the Father of the Nation). [133] This group developed into a wider pan-Africanist organisation, the International African Service Bureau (IASB), of which Kenyatta became one of the vice chairs. A member of the Kikuyu people, Kenyatta was born with the name Kamau in the village of Nginda. [430], In July 1969, Mboya—a prominent and popular Luo KANU politician—was assassinated by a Kikuyu. [166] Kenyatta spoke at the conference, although made no particular impact on the proceedings. [414] Relations between Kenyatta and Odinga were strained, and at the March 1966 party conference, Odinga's post—that of party vice president—was divided among eight different politicians, greatly limiting his power and ending his position as Kenyatta's automatic successor. [157] He attempted to join the local Home Guard, but was turned down. In 1929, he travelled to London to lobby for Kikuyu land affairs. [214] The judge selected, Ransley Thacker, had recently retired from the Supreme Court of Kenya;[210] the government knew he would be sympathetic to their case and gave him £20,000 to oversee it. In world power politics the East has as much designs upon us as the West and would like to serve their own interests. No other African had made such an uncompromising stand for tribal integrity. [64] He then lodged with a prostitute; both this and Kenyatta's lavish spending brought concern from the Church Mission Society. [34] Desiring a wife,[35] Kenyatta entered a relationship with Grace Wahu, who had attended the CMS School in Kabete; she initially moved into Kenyatta's family homestead,[35] although she joined Kenyatta in Dagoretti when Ngengi drove her out. [74] 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. Kenya's first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta married … Kenyatta ran away from home to become a pupil at the Church of Scotland Mission, where he studied English, Mathematics, the Bible and carpentry. [223] The appeals process resumed in October 1953, and in January 1954 the Supreme Court upheld the convictions against all but Oneko. [394], Although many white Kenyans accepted Kenyatta's rule, he remained opposed by white far right activists; while in London at the July 1964 Commonwealth Conference, he was assaulted by Martin Webster, a British neo-Nazi. ( Log Out / [287] MacDonald and Kenyatta developed a strong friendship;[288] the Briton referred to the latter as "the wisest and perhaps strongest as well as most popular potential Prime Minister of the independent nation to be". Jomo Kenyatta led Kenya from its independence in 1963, ushering in new change for the nation after years of British rule. The newborn has reportedly [57] [315] To prevent further military unrest, he brought in a review of the salaries of the army, police, and prison staff, leading to pay rises. [264] In August, he was moved to Gatundu in Kikuyuland, where he was greeted by a crowd of 10,000. [238] There, he was joined by his wife Ngina. When members of the crowd started throwing stones, Kenyatta's bodyguards opened fire on them, killing and wounding several. [457], In 1977, Kenyatta had several further strokes or heart attacks. During the ceremony, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh—representing the British monarchy—formally handed over control of the country to Kenyatta. [265] There, the colonial government had built him a new house to replace that they had demolished. [30] Kenyatta lived with the family of an aunt who had married a Maasai chief,[31] adopting Maasai customs and wearing Maasai jewellery, including a beaded belt known as kinyata in the Kikuyu language. She once served as the Mayor of Nairobi (1970–76) and then as Kenya’s Ambassador to the United Nations (1976–86). [282] KANU opposed Majimbo, believing that it served entrenched interests and denied equal opportunities across Kenya; they also insisted on an elected head of government. [426] Of the 29 defectors, only nine were re-elected on the KPU ticket;[427] Odinga was among them, having retained his Central Nyanza seat with a high majority. [44] He had sufficient funds that he could lend money to European clerks in the offices,[45] and could enjoy the lifestyle offered by Nairobi, which included cinemas, football matches, and imported British fashions. [539], After 1963, Maloba noted, Kenyatta became "about the most admired post-independence African leader" on the world stage, one who Western countries hailed as a "beloved elder statesman. [382] Between 1964 and 1966, the number of primary schools grew by 11.6%, and the number of secondary schools by 80%. [250], By this point, it was widely accepted that Kenyan independence was inevitable, the British Empire having been dismantled throughout much of Asia and Macmillan having made his "Wind of Change" speech. [347] Left-wing critics highlighted that the image of "African socialism" portrayed in the document provided for no major shift away from the colonial economy. [440] It used laws on detention and deportation to perpetuate its political hold. [333] An East African Literature Bureau was created to publish the work of indigenous writers. [547] In their examination of his writings, Berman and Lonsdale described him as a "pioneer" for being one of the first Kikuyu to write and publish; "his representational achievement was unique". [422] This resulted in the election of June 1966. ( Log Out / [158], Intelligence services continued monitoring Kenyatta, noting that he was politically inactive between 1939 and 1944. [275], Kenyatta sought to gain the confidence of the white settler community. [12], In November 1909, Kenyatta left home and enrolled as a pupil at the Church of Scotland Mission (CSM) at Thogoto. Select from premium Jomo Kenyatta of the highest quality. [248] Resolutions calling for his release were produced at the All-African Peoples' Conferences held in Tunis in 1960 and Cairo in 1961. [53], It is likely that the KCA purchased a motorbike for Kenyatta,[52] which he used to travel around Kikuyuland and neighbouring areas inhabited by the Meru and Embu, helping to establish new KCA branches. [381] Their report set out the long-term goal of universal free primary education in Kenya but argued that the government's emphasis should be on secondary and higher education to facilitate the training of indigenous African personnel to take over the civil service and other jobs requiring such an education. Mr Koinange served as the Minister of State in the office of Kenya’s founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. [158] In August 1943, their son, Peter Magana, was born. When it became apparent that Grace was pregnant, his church elders ordered him to get married before a European magistrate, and also undertake the appropriate church rites. [95] In late 1932, he joined Padmore in Germany. Both the KCA and the Kikuyu Association opposed these Land Boards, which treated Kikuyu land as collectively-owned rather than recognising individual Kikuyu land ownership. [254] In May 1960, KANU nominated Kenyatta as its president, although the government vetoed it, insisting that he had been an instigator of the Mau Mau. [493], Kenyatta had been exposed to Marxist-Leninist ideas through his friendship with Padmore and the time spent in the Soviet Union,[494] but had also been exposed to Western forms of liberal democratic government through his many years in Britain. Kamau wa Ngengi was born c. 1891, in Gatundu, British East Africa. [383] Although Kenyatta died without having attained the goal of free, universal primary education in Kenya, the country had made significant advances in that direction, with 85% of Kenyan children in primary education, and within a decade of independence had trained sufficient numbers of indigenous Africans to take over the civil service. [81], In his absence, female genital mutilation (FGM) had become a topic of strong debate in Kikuyu society. [267] [208] Many white settlers wanted him exiled, but the government feared this would turn him into a martyr for the anti-colonialist cause. Kenyatta left his wife in England in 1946 and he came back to Kenya and got married to his third wife. [127] Kenyatta socialised at the Student Movement House in Russell Square, which he had joined in the spring of 1934,[128] and befriended Africans in the city. [343] Relations with the Soviet Union were also strained; Kenyatta shut down the Lumumba Institute—an educational organisation named after the Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba—on the basis that it was a front for Soviet influence in Kenya. [227] In 1955, P. de Robeck became the District Officer, after which Kenyatta and the other inmates were treated more leniently. [97] There he was taught arithmetic, geography, natural science, and political economy, as well as Marxist-Leninist doctrine and the history of the Marxist-Leninist movement. [246] Kwame Nkrumah—whom Kenyatta had known since the 1940s and who was now President of a newly independent Ghana—personally raised the issue with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and other UK officials,[247] with the Ghanaian government offering Kenyatta asylum in the event of his release. On 20 November 1922 Kamau's first son, Peter Muigai, was born (he died in 1979); a daughter, Margaret Kenyatta, was born in 1928 (she died in 2017). [332] To this end, it made efforts to assert the dignity of indigenous African cultures which missionaries and colonial authorities had belittled as "primitive". [367] As part of the Lancaster House negotiations, Britain's government agreed to provide Kenya with £27 million with which to buy out white farmers and redistribute their land among the indigenous population. [401] Kenyatta also maintained a warm relationship with Israel, including when other East African nations endorsed Arab hostility to the state;[402] he for instance permitted Israeli jets to refuel in Kenya on their way back from the Entebbe raid. [237] 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. [374] Kenyatta's government was eager to control the country's trade unions, fearing their ability to disrupt the economy. [121] Fellow course-mates included the anthropologists Audrey Richards, Lucy Mair, and Elspeth Huxley. [33] 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 the latter's case in a land dispute before a Nairobi court. [514] Gikandi argued that Kenyatta's "identification with Englishness was much more profound than both his friends and enemies have been willing to admit". [468] In October he was unanimously elected KANU President and subsequently declared President of Kenya itself. [355] Between late 1967 and early 1968, growing numbers of Kenyan Asians migrated to Britain;[356] in February 1968 large numbers migrated quickly before a legal change revoked their right to do so. Under Kenyatta, Kenya joined the Organisation of African Unity and the Commonwealth of Nations, espousing a pro-Western and anti-communist foreign policy amid the Cold War. [525], During his trial, Kenyatta described himself as a Christian[526] saying, "I do not follow any particular denomination. [483], Kenyatta biographer Guy Arnold described the Kenyan leader as "a pragmatist and a moderate", noting that his only "radicalism" came in the form of his "nationalist attack" on imperialism. [26], Kenyatta moved to Thika, where he worked for an engineering firm run by the Briton John Cook. Obote personally visited Kenyatta to apologise. Edna was a British lady and was the second wife to the late mzee. [342] Under Kenyatta, Western companies regarded Kenya as a safe and profitable place for investment;[343] between 1964 and 1970, large-scale foreign investment and industry in Kenya nearly doubled. Peter had a sister, with the same mother, named Margaret Kenyatta who was born in 1929. [229] By 1957, the inmates had formed into two rival cliques, with Kenyatta and Itote on one side and the other KAU members—now calling themselves the "National Democratic Party"—on the other. [354] During the 1970s, this expanded to cover the trade in soap, cement, and textiles. [107], Kenyatta continued writing articles, reflecting Padmore's influence. [519] Murray-Brown characterized Kenyatta as an "affectionate father" to his children, but one who was frequently absent. [32], In 1917, Kenyatta moved to Narok, where he was involved in transporting livestock to Nairobi,[31] before relocating to Nairobi to work in a store selling farming and engineering equipment. By 1959, the Mau Mau had killed around 1,880 people. [122] Kenyatta liked to dress elaborately; throughout most of his adult life, he wore finger rings and while studying at university in London took to wearing a fez and cloak and carrying a silver-topped black cane. [223] 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 the others were freed in July 1953, only to be immediately re-arrested. [183] In January 1952, KAU members formed a secret Central Committee devoted to direct action, formulated along a cell structure. [258] Kenyatta had kept abreast of these developments, although he had refused to back either KANU or KADU,[259] instead insisting on unity between the two parties. [112] In these, he took a more radical position than he had in the past, calling for complete self-rule in Kenya. [54] In February 1928, he was part of a KCA party that visited Government House in Nairobi to give evidence in front of the Hilton Young Commission, which was then considering a federation between Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika. [181] In 1951, he married his fourth wife, Ngina, who was one of the few female students at his college; she then gave birth to a daughter. In 1952, he was among the Kapenguria Six arrested and charged with masterminding the anti-colonial Mau Mau Uprising. "[540] His opinions were "most valued" both by conservative African politicians and by Western leaders. Mzee Jomo married Grace Wahu in 1919 on 20 November 1922, the very first child of Mzee Jomo was born. [412], A major focus for Kenyatta during the first three and a half years of Kenya's independence were the divisions within KANU itself.