The current first family is made up of Uhuru Kenyatta, Margaret Kenyatta and their three children, Ngina, Jomo and Jaba Kenyatta. [553] This white animosity reached its apogee between 1950 and 1952. [368] As part of the Lancaster House negotiations, Britain's government agreed to provide Kenya with 27million with which to buy out white farmers and redistribute their land among the indigenous population. His children included President Uhuru Kenyatta, by his fourth and youngest wife, Ngina. The Kenyatta family is the family of Jomo Kenyatta, the first President of Kenya and a prominent leader in that country's independence. [297] Kenyatta's personality became a central aspect of the creation of the new state. [158], Intelligence services continued monitoring Kenyatta, noting that he was politically inactive between 1939 and 1944. [480] Similarly, Assensoh noted that Kenyatta was "not interested in social philosophies and slogans". [109] He also produced an article for a November 1933 issue of Labour Monthly,[110] and in May 1934 had a letter published in The Manchester Guardian. [93], In Britain, Kenyatta befriended an Afro-Caribbean Marxist, George Padmore, who was working for the Soviet-run Comintern. [131], In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia (Abyssinia), incensing Kenyatta and other Africans in London; he became the honorary secretary of the International African Friends of Abyssinia, a group established by Padmore and C. L. R. [550] Another significant success had been in dismantling the colonial-era system of racial segregation in schools, public facilities, and social clubs peacefully and with minimal disruption. [339] Kenyatta's economic policy was capitalist and entrepreneurial,[340] with no serious socialist policies being pursued;[341] its focus was on achieving economic growth as opposed to equitable redistribution. [367], The question of land ownership had deep emotional resonance in Kenya, having been a major grievance against the British colonialists. [212] It was clear to all concerned that Kenyatta was going to be the key to the future of Kenyan politics. As a member of the Kikuyu people, he traveled to London in 1929 to protest the British governments recommendation that its East African territories be more closely united at the expense of Kikuyu interests. He upgraded the economic status of the country after independence. She is married in Makueni County and little is known about her. [522], "I do not think I amand have never beenan enemy of Europeans or the white people, because I have spent many years in England or in Europe, and even today I have many friends in various nations. [271], Kenyatta traveled elsewhere in Africa, visiting Tanganyika in October 1961 and Ethiopia in November at the invitation of their governments. [42] Kenyatta lived in the Kilimani neighbourhood of Nairobi,[43] although he financed the construction of a second home at Dagoretti; he referred to this latter hut as the Kinyata Stores for he used it to hold general provisions for the neighborhood. [356] Between late 1967 and early 1968, growing numbers of Kenyan Asians migrated to Britain;[357] in February 1968 large numbers migrated quickly before a legal change revoked their right to do so. Much of the wealth created by Jomo Kenyattas capitalist fiscal policy was concentrated in the hands of his friends and family. Kenyatta was the uncle of Ngethe Njoroge, Kenya's first representative to the United Nations and the great uncle of Tom Morello, the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine. Jomo Kenyatta[a] CGH (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. [208] Eventually, they charged him and five senior KAU members with masterminding the Mau Mau, a proscribed group. [63] He initially stayed at the West African Students' Union premises in West London, where he met Ladipo Solanke. Over the course of his studies, Kenyatta and Malinowski became close friends. [130] Appearing in the film also allowed him to meet and befriend its star, the African-American Paul Robeson. [57] Kenyatta had two children from his first marriage with Grace Wahu: son Peter Muigai Kenyatta (born 1920), who later became a deputy minister; and daughter Margaret Kenyatta (born 1928). [317] Two of the senior members of KADU, Ronald Ngala and Daniel arap Moi, subsequently became some of Kenyatta's most loyal supporters. [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. Jomo Kenyatta and his beautiful wife, Fiona Ngobi Achola have been the most talked-about family simply because they are linked to President Kenyatta. [275] In June 1962, Kenyatta travelled to Mogadishu to discuss the issue with the Somalian authorities, but the two sides could not reach an agreement. photo: [President Uhuru Kenyatta] (1946-1950), Ngina Kenyattam. He successfully stalled plans for the union. [5] Kenyatta's father was named Muigai, and his mother Wambui. Keywords Decolonisation land Majimboism centralisation settlement schemes Type Chapter Information Authorities will suspend operations at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) Terminal 2 on Feb. 24 and 26 amid the visit and later departure of US First Lady Jill Biden. [548] 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". I believe in Christianity as a whole. [222], Kenyatta and the others were returned to Lokitaung, where they resided on remand while awaiting the results of the appeal process. The widening wealth gap skewed in favour of the dominant Kikuyu at the expense of low-income Kenyans and members of other ethnic groups, a problem that was exacerbated by rapid population growth. [174] He built a bungalow at Gatundu, near to where he was born, and began farming his 32-acre estate. Both the amendments by these two Presidents were to remove them from the list of . The website is a work-in-progress and new information will be regularly added as it's compiled. He adopted the name of Jomo Kenyatta taking his first name from the Kikuyu word for "burning spear" and his last name from the masai word for the bead belt that he often wore.[2]. Magana, 76, lived in the United Kingdom with his mother who died in 1995 at the age of 86. [348] Left-wing critics highlighted that the image of "African socialism" portrayed in the document provided for no major shift away from the colonial economy. Three years later Kenyatta became this organizations general secretary, though he had to give up his municipal job as a consequence. [291] An election was scheduled for May, with self-government in June, followed by full independence in December. In world power politics the East has as much designs upon us as the West and would like to serve their own interests. Jomo Kenyatta: Family and Personal Life. [324] Seeking the support of Kenya's second largest ethnic group, the Luo, Kenyatta appointed the Luo Oginga Odinga as his vice president. Kenyatta left Edna in England when he returned to Kenya in 1946 and married Grace Wanjiku. He was a famous African statesman and nationalist. [169] He subsequently authored an IASB pamphlet, Kenya: The Land of Conflict, in which he blended political calls for independence with romanticised descriptions of an idealised pre-colonial African past. An agreement was reached that an election would be called for a new 65-seat Legislative Council, with 33 seats reserved for black Africans, 20 for other ethnic groups, and 12 as 'national members' elected by a pan-racial electorate. [10] In keeping with Kikuyu tradition, Wambui then married her late husband's younger brother, Ngengi. [46] When the KCA wrote to Beauttah and asked him to travel to London as their representative, he declined, but recommended that Kenyattawho had a good command of Englishgo in his place. [283] KANU opposed Majimbo, believing that it served entrenched interests and denied equal opportunities across Kenya; they also insisted on an elected head of government. [344] When Chinese Communist official Zhou Enlai visited Dar es Salaam, his statement that "Africa is ripe for revolution" was clearly aimed largely at Kenya. [129] To earn money, he worked as one of 250 black extras in the film Sanders of the River, filmed at Shepperton Studios in Autumn 1934. [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. His father was a leader of a small Kikuyu agricultural settlement. [335] The Kenya Cultural Centre supported indigenous art and music, and hundreds of traditional music and dance groups were formed; Kenyatta personally insisted that such performances were held at all national celebrations. [184] At its June 1947 annual general meeting, KAU's President James Gichuru stepped down and Kenyatta was elected as his replacement. [88] Kenyatta would not return to Kenya for fifteen years. [425] In October 1969, Kenyatta visited Kisumu, located in Luo territory, to open a hospital. [314] Kenyatta was outraged and shaken by the mutiny. [386] In 1965, the government introduced free medical services for out-patients and children. [387] In the short-term, its emphasis was on increasing the overall number of doctors and registered nurses while decreasing the number of expatriates in those positions. Early Career Overseas [351] The government established the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation to provide loans for black-owned businesses,[351] and secured a 51% share in the Kenya National Assurance Company. [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. "[541] His opinions were "most valued" both by conservative African politicians and by Western leaders. [355] During the 1970s, this expanded to cover the trade in soap, cement, and textiles. [210] Pritt's involvement brought much media attention;[210] during the trial he faced government harassment and was sent death threats. [360] Their acquisitions in the Central, Rift Valley, and Coast Provinces aroused great anger among landless Kenyans. "[309] He had flown Edna and Peter over for the ceremony, and in Kenya they were welcomed into Kenyatta's family by his other wives. [306], A celebration to mark independence was held in a specially constructed stadium on 12 December 1963. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In 1929, he travelled to London to lobby for Kikuyu land affairs. The Kenyatta family has come a long way if you consider that President Uhuru Kenyatta's father once worked as a 'Kanjo', reading water meters for the City Council of Nairobi for Sh250 a month. [252] It invited representatives of Kenya's anti-colonial movement to discuss the transition at London's Lancaster House. He again later changed his name to Jomo in 1938. [10] Kenyatta then took the name of Kamau wa Ngengi ("Kamau, son of Ngengi"). [306] Kenyatta condemned the assassination of the prominent leftist politician, although UK intelligence agencies believed that his own bodyguard had orchestrated the murder. In the end, however, the government temporarily abandoned its plan for union. Children of Jomo Kenyatta and Grace Wahu Peter Muigai Kenyatta 1920 Margaret Wambui Kenyatta 1928 Son of Jomo Kenyatta and Edna Grace Clarke Peter Magana Kenyatta 1943 Daughter of Jomo Kenyatta and Grace Wanjiku Jane Wambui Kenyatta 1950 Children of Jomo Kenyatta and Ngina Muhoho Christine Wambui Kenyatta 1952 Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta 1961 [520] Kenyatta had no racist impulses regarding white Europeans, as can, for instance, be seen through his marriage to a white English woman. [15] While there, Kenyatta stayed at the small boarding school, where he learnt stories from the Bible,[16] and was taught to read and write in English. [461] In doing so, senior Kenyans sought to project an image of their country as a modern nation-state rather than one incumbent on tradition. She often accompanied him in public, and some streets in Nairobi and Mombasa are named after her. [142] In this book, Kenyatta made clear his belief that the rights of the individual should be downgraded in favour of the interests of the group. She bore Kenyatta four children: Wambui (born 1953), Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 1961), Anna Nyokabi Muthama Kenyatta (born May 1963) Muhoho Kenyatta (born 1965). [257] KANU nevertheless refused to form a government, which was instead created through a KADU-led coalition of smaller parties. [277] He was also aware that the confidence of the white minority would be crucial to securing Western investment in Kenya's economy. [78] Although Kenyatta enjoyed life in London and feared arrest if he returned home,[79] he sailed back to Mombasa in September 1930. [452] By 1970, he was increasingly feeble and senile,[453] and by 1975 Kenyatta hadaccording to Maloba"in effect ceased to actively govern". The Africans were dispossessed, leaseholds of land were restricted to white settlers, and native reservations were established. [307] Also in attendance were leading figures from the Mau Mau. [188] This was made difficult by the fact that many Maasai and Luotribes traditionally hostile to the Kikuyuregarded him as an advocate of Kikuyu dominance. [137], Kenyatta assembled the essays on Kikuyu society written for Malinowski's class and published them as Facing Mount Kenya in 1938. [8] Wambui subsequently bore another son, Kongo,[9] shortly before Muigai died. Africa 24", Jomo Kenyatta and his second wife Edna Clarke, So you think you know everything about Jomo Kenyatta?. "[479], To Ochieng, Kenyatta was "a personification of conservative social forces and tendencies" in Kenya. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [62] Grigg's administration could not stop Kenyatta's journey but asked London's Colonial Office not to meet with him. [400] The historian Poppy Cullen nevertheless noted that there was no "dictatorial neo-colonial control" in Kenyatta's Kenya. [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. Forced by the missionaries to choose just one, he chose Johnstone, the -stone chosen as a reference to Peter. [210] The historian John M. Lonsdale stated that Kenyatta had been made a "scapegoat",[211] while the historian A. All was well until the relationship between the elder Kenyatta and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga went into a nosedive. ", Kenyatta, quoted by the Daily Express, September 1952[205], In October 1952, Kenyatta was arrested and driven to Nairobi, where he was taken aboard a plane and flown to Lokitaung, northwest Kenya, one of the most remote locations in the country. . (1919-), Grace Wanjikum. "[535], Within Kenya, Kenyatta came to be regarded as the "Father of the Nation",[536] and was given the unofficial title of Mzee, a Swahili term meaning "grand old man". Muhoho Kenyatta, Uhuru's youngest brother, was born in 1964 and runs the Kenyatta's vast business empire that includes Brookside Dairy and Commercial Bank of Africa. . [533] In Facing Mount Kenya, he challenged the missionaries' dismissive attitude toward ancestor veneration, which he instead preferred to call "ancestor communion". [539] He came to be regarded as a father figure not only by Kikuyu and Kenyans, but by Africans more widely. He was a well educated intellectual who authored several books, and is . [256] KANU campaigned on the issue of Kenyatta's detainment in the February 1961 election, where it gained a majority of votes. [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. [331] His administration pressured whites-only social clubs to adopt multi-racial entry policies,[332] and in 1964 schools formerly reserved for European pupils were opened to Africans and Asians. The aged Kenyatta died in office in Nairobi on August 22, 1978. Uhuru Kenyatta unsuccessfully vied for the Kenyan presidency as President Moi's preferred successor in 2002. His siblings are: Christine Wambui who was born 1952, Uhuru (1961) and Nyokabi Muthama (1963). [217], In April 1953, Judge Thacker found the defendants guilty. [387] Before independence, the average life expectancy in Kenya was 45, but by the end of the 1970s it was 55, the second-highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. [481] Several commentators and biographers described him as being politically conservative,[482] an ideological viewpoint likely bolstered by his training in functionalist anthropology. Margaret is daughter to German beauty Magdalenna Gakuo and Njuguna Gakuo and sister to Maina Gakuo . [460] McKenzie had been employed as a go-between,[451] and the structure of the funeral was orchestrated to deliberately imitate that of deceased British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Jomo Kenyatta, original name Kamau Ngengi, (born c. 1894, Ichaweri, British East Africa [now in Kenya]died August 22, 1978, Mombasa, Kenya), African statesman and nationalist, the first prime minister (196364) and then the first president (196478) of independent Kenya. [ 208 ] Eventually, they charged him and five senior KAU with. Brother, Ngengi `` Kamau, son of Ngengi '' ) about Jomo Kenyatta and became. 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