Many available
Jomo Kenyatta biography articles and book chapters as well as books omit some fascinating and yet embarrassing aspects concerning Kenya's founding father.
This is hardly surprising because in creating the powerful office of the presidency in Kenya (to replace that of Prime Minister), Kenyatta's handlers literally altered and re-wrote history to best suite their political purposes. After the Kenyatta spin doctors were done younger Kenyans grew up believing that the old man was the radical leader of the Mau mau who violently fought for independence. The Kenyan version of Nelson Mandela so to speak. Kenya's first president himself used every opportunity in speeches and off the cuff remarks everywhere to remind Kenyans that independence was fought for using violent means and saying that he himself was at the forefront of that violent struggle for Kenya's independence from colonialism. Nothing could be further from the truth because Jomo Kenyatta was a moderate who some even considered to be an outright coward.
His moderate reconciliatory stance caused him to run into trouble with the Mau mau several times and they even threatened to assassinate him for denouncing their violent ways and for his approach which was too reconciliatory.
Many available Jomo Kenyatta biography articles and book chapters as well as books omit some fascinating and yet embarrassing aspects concerning Kenya's founding father.
This is hardly surprising because in creating the powerful office of the presidency in Kenya (to replace that of Prime Minister), Kenyatta's handlers literally altered and re-wrote history to best suite their political purposes. After the Kenyatta spin doctors were done younger Kenyans grew up believing that the old man was the radical leader of the Mau mau who violently fought for independence. The Kenyan version of Nelson Mandela so to speak. Kenya's first president himself used every opportunity in speeches and off the cuff remarks everywhere to remind Kenyans that independence was fought for using violent means and saying that he himself was at the forefront of that violent struggle for Kenya's independence from colonialism. Nothing could be further from the truth because Jomo Kenyatta was a moderate who some even considered to be an outright coward.
His moderate reconciliatory stance caused him to run into trouble with the Mau mau several times and they even threatened to assassinate him for denouncing their violent ways and for his approach which was too reconciliatory.
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