Jomo Kenyatta - Biography.

Jomo Kenyatta - Biography. First leader of independent Kenya Birth 1894? Death August 22, 1978 Place of Gatundu, British East Africa Birth Political Kenya African National Union Party Official Title Prime Minister, President Terms Prime Minister, 1963-1964 President, 1964-1978 Known for Leading Kenya to independence from Britain and calling upon members of various ethnic groups to cooperate in developing their new nation Milestones 1920s Became involved in the nationalist movement in Nairobi 1928 Became president of the nationalist Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) and editor of the KCA's newspaper 1929 Traveled to Britain; attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate the return of lands seized by colonial authorities; worked and studied intermittently until 1946 1938 Gained international fame with the publication of Facing Mount Kenya, an anthropological study of Kikuyu culture, and critique of British cultural domination 1945 Helped organize the fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester, England 1947 Became president of the Kenya African Union, transforming it into a nationalist party 1952-1961 Was jailed for alleged involvement in the Mau Mau Rebellion of 1952 1962 Negotiated the independence of Kenya at the London Conference 1963 Became prime minister of Kenya, and was voted into the office of president upon the establishment of the Republic of Kenya the following year Did You Educated by Christian missionaries, Kenyatta helped translate the New Testament into the Kikuyu language. Know As president, Kenyatta was known affectionately to Kenyans as mzee (Swahili for 'old man'). In the 1930s and 1940s, Kenyatta's circle of friends in London included future president of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah, African-American entertainer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, and black South African novelist Peter Abrahams. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.