Who is Jomo Kenyatta ? What is Jomo Kenyatta famous for ?
He was born in 1894. It belongs to the Kikuyular, the most famous tribe of East Africa. As a 10-year-old orphaned, Scottish missionaries took him under their care. His name at that time was ‘Kamua Ngengi’. His childhood passed with these missionaries. The priests named him ‘Johnstone’. When he grew up, he became a civil servant in Nairobi Water Works.
He joined the Kikuyu Central Union (KAC) in 1922 and became the Secretary General. The Union sent him to London in 1929 to defend Kenyan rights. He stayed there for many years. He entered university in London. He became the favorite student of the famous anthropology professor Milanovaski. With the support of the professor, he wrote a work examining the history of the Kikuyu tribe. This book, “Looking at Mount Kenya” may be considered the first serious study written by an African. He stayed in Russia for two years and studied anthropology at Moscow University.
He directed the Pan-African Federation Congress that convened in Manchaster in 1945. Established in 1944, Kenya passed to the African Union. The organization developed in a short time and accelerated its work. He took care of the ‘Independent Schools Association’ that Africans established for their own students. He had a fascinating power over Africans.
The black, red, green flag he drew for the Kenya African Union was circulating in everyone’s hands. Black; African people, green; dormitory, red; It represented the blood shed and spilled for salvation.
The British held him responsible for the Mau-Mau uprising that started at that time. They arrested him in 1952. This uprising was the first nationalist uprising against whites in Africa. At the head of the Mau-Mau, he was trying to liberate his country from the yoke of the imperialists and achieve independence. His trial was held in a secluded and secret area of Kenya. In the end, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and one year of exile. While he was in prison, the Kenyan act of national independence triumphed. Colonial rule ended in 1963 in the country. Republic of Kenya was established.
He gained his freedom at the age of 61. He was first appointed as prime minister and then as Kenyan President. He died in 1978.
