Jomo Kenyatta

Who was Jomo Kenyatta?

Jomo Kenyatta was the leader of Kenya from independence in 1963 to his death in 1978, serving first as Prime Minister and then as President. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation.

He was a well educated intellectual who authored several books, and is remembered as a Pan-Africanist. He is also the father of Kenya's fourth and current President Uhuru Kenyatta.

A quasi-monarchical leader, Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi's main street and main streets in many Kenyan cities and towns, numerous schools, two universities, the country's main referral hospital, markets and housing estates are named after him. A statue in Nairobi city centre and monuments all over Kenya stand in his honour. Kenya observed a public holiday every 20 October in his honour until the 2010 constitution abolished Kenyatta Day and replaced it with Mashujaa day. Kenyatta's face adorns Kenyan currency notes and coins of all denominations, but this is expected to change as Kenya's 2010 constitution bars the use of the portrait of any person on Kenya's currency.