Editing Jomo Kenyatta (section)

==Leadership==
===Premiership: 1963–1964===

The [[1963 Kenyan general election|May 1963 general election]] pitted Kenyatta's KANU against KADU, the Akamba People's Party, and various independent candidates.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=308|2a1=Kuria|2y=1991|2p=120}} KANU was victorious with 83 seats out of 124 in the [[House of Representatives (Kenya)|House of Representatives]];{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=308}} a KANU majority government replaced the pre-existing coalition.{{sfn|Maloba|2018|p=244}} On 1&nbsp;June 1963, Kenyatta was sworn in as prime minister of the autonomous Kenyan government.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=308|2a1=Arnold|2y=1974|2p=156|3a1=Kyle|3y=1997|3p=58|4a1=Maloba|4y=2018|4pp=244, 245}} Kenya remained a monarchy, with Queen [[Elizabeth II]] as its head of state.{{sfn|Lonsdale|2006|p=99}} In November 1963, Kenyatta's government introduced a law making it a criminal offence to disrespect the Prime Minister, exile being the punishment.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=315}} Kenyatta's personality became a central aspect of the creation of the new state.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=315}} In December, Nairobi's Delamere Avenue was renamed Kenyatta Avenue,{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=315|2a1=Arnold|2y=1974|2p=155}} and a bronze statue of him was erected beside the country's [[National Assembly (Kenya)|National Assembly]].{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=315}} Photographs of Kenyatta were widely displayed in shop windows,{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=315}} and his face was also printed on the new currency.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=315}} In 1964, [[Oxford University Press]] published a collection of Kenyatta's speeches under the title of ''Harambee!''.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=24}}
[[File:East African Federation (orthographic projection) proposed - 1963.png|thumb|left|Kenyatta initially agreed to merge Kenya with Tanganyika, Uganda and Zanzibar to form an [[East African Federation]].]]

Kenya's first cabinet included not only Kikuyu but also members of the Luo, Kamba, Kisii, and Maragoli tribal groups.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=155}} In June 1963, Kenyatta met with Julius Nyerere and Ugandan President [[Milton Obote]] in Nairobi. The trio discussed the possibility of merging their three nations (plus Zanzibar) into a single [[East African Federation]], agreeing that this would be accomplished by the end of the year.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=173|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=55|3a1=Kyle|3y=1997|3p=58}} Privately, Kenyatta was more reluctant regarding the arrangement and as 1964 came around the federation had not come to pass.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=174}} Many radical voices in Kenya urged him to pursue the project;{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=95}} in May 1964, Kenyatta rejected a back-benchers resolution calling for speedier federation.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=174}} He publicly stated that talk of a federation had always been a ruse to hasten the pace of Kenyan independence from Britain, but Nyerere denied that this was true.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=174}}

Continuing to emphasize good relations with the white settlers, in August 1963 Kenyatta met with 300 white farmers at [[Nakuru]]. He reassured them that they would be safe and welcome in an independent Kenya, and more broadly talked of forgiving and forgetting the conflicts of the past.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=309|2a1=Arnold|2y=1974|2pp=65, 67|3a1=Maloba|3y=2018|3pp=258–259}} Despite his attempts at wooing white support, he did not do the same with the Indian minority.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=153}} Like many indigenous Africans in Kenya, Kenyatta bore a sense of resentment towards this community, despite the role that many Indians had played in securing the country's independence.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=316}} He also encouraged the remaining Mau Mau fighters to leave the forests and settle in society.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=309}} Throughout Kenyatta's rule, many of these individuals remained out of work, unemployment being one of the most persistent problems facing his government.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=316}}

A celebration to mark independence was held in a specially constructed stadium on 12 December 1963. During the ceremony, [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]—representing the British monarchy—formally handed over control of the country to Kenyatta.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1pp=309–310|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=63}} Also in attendance were leading figures from the Mau Mau.{{sfn|Kyle|1997|p=60}} In a speech, Kenyatta described it as "the greatest day in Kenya's history and the happiest day in my life."{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=311}} He had flown Edna and Peter over for the ceremony, and in Kenya they were welcomed into Kenyatta's family by his other wives.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|pp=310–311}}

Disputes with Somalia over the Northern Frontier District (NFD) continued; for much of Kenyatta's rule, Somalia remained the major threat to his government.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=153–154}} To deal with sporadic violence in the region by Somali ''[[shifta]]'' guerrillas, Kenyatta sent soldiers into the region in December 1963 and gave them broad powers of arrest and seizure in the NFD in September 1964.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=154}} British troops were assigned to assist the Kenyan Army in the region.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=155}} Kenyatta also faced domestic opposition: in January 1964, sections of the army launched a mutiny in Nairobi, and Kenyatta called on the British Army to put down the rebellion.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=157|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=51}} Similar armed uprisings had taken place that month in neighboring Uganda and Tanganyika.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=157|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=51}} Kenyatta was outraged and shaken by the mutiny.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=52}} He publicly rebuked the mutineers, emphasising the need for law and order in Kenya.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=157}} To prevent further military unrest, he brought in a review of the salaries of the army, police, and prison staff, leading to pay rises.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=52}} Kenyatta also wanted to contain parliamentary opposition and at Kenyatta's prompting, in November 1964 KADU officially dissolved and its representatives joined KANU.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1pp=314–315|2a1=Arnold|2y=1974|2p=160|3a1=Maloba|3y=2018|3pp=265–266}} Two of the senior members of KADU, [[Ronald Ngala]] and [[Daniel arap Moi]], subsequently became some of Kenyatta's most loyal supporters.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=160}} Kenya therefore became a ''de facto'' one-party state.{{sfnm|1a1=Gertzel|1y=1970|1p=34|2a1=Arnold|2y=1974|2p=160}}

===Presidency: 1964–1978===

[[File:Kenya presidential standard JOMO KENYATTA.svg|thumb|right|The presidential standard of Jomo Kenyatta, adopted in 1970]]

In December 1964, Kenya was officially proclaimed a republic.{{sfn|Gertzel|1970|p=34}} Kenyatta became its executive president,{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=166|2a1=Kyle|2y=1997|2p=60}} combining the roles of [[head of state]] and [[head of government]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gertzel|1y=1970|1p=34|2a1=Murray-Brown|2y=1974|2pp=314–315|3a1=Assensoh|3y=1998|3p=63}} Over the course of 1965 and 1966, several constitutional amendments enhanced the president's power.{{sfn|Gertzel|1970|p=35}} For instance, a May 1966 amendment gave the president the ability to order the detention of individuals without trial if he thought the security of the state was threatened.{{sfnm|1a1=Ochieng|1y=1995|1p=94|2a1=Gertzel|2y=1970|2p=152}} Seeking the support of Kenya's second largest ethnic group, the Luo, Kenyatta appointed the Luo Oginga Odinga as his vice president.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=20}} The Kikuyu—who made up around 20 percent of population—still held most of the country's important government and administrative positions.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=316|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=340}} This contributed to a perception among many Kenyans that independence had simply seen the dominance of a British elite replaced by the dominance of a Kikuyu elite.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=316}}

Kenyatta's calls to forgive and forget the past were a keystone of his government.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=313|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=63}} He preserved some elements of the old colonial order, particularly in relation to [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]].{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=312}} The police and military structures were left largely intact.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=312}} White Kenyans were left in senior positions within the judiciary, civil service, and parliament,{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1pp=312–313|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=63}} with the white Kenyans [[Bruce Mackenzie]] and [[Humphrey Slade]] being among Kenyatta's top officials.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=168|2a1=Ochieng|2y=1995|2p=93|3a1=Assensoh|3y=1998|3p=63}} Kenyatta's government nevertheless rejected the idea that the European and Asian minorities could be permitted [[dual citizenship]], expecting these communities to offer total loyalty to the independent Kenyan state.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=112}} His administration pressured whites-only social clubs to adopt multi-racial entry policies,{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=115}} and in 1964 schools formerly reserved for European pupils were opened to Africans and Asians.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=115}}

Kenyatta's government believed it necessary to cultivate a united Kenyan national culture.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=138}} To this end, it made efforts to assert the dignity of indigenous African cultures which missionaries and colonial authorities had belittled as "primitive".{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=139}} An [[East African Literature Bureau]] was created to publish the work of indigenous writers.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=140}} 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.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=141}} Support was given to the preservation of historic and cultural monuments, while street names referencing colonial figures were renamed and symbols of colonialism—like the statue of British settler [[Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere]] in Nairobi city centre—were removed.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=140}} The government encouraged the use of Swahili as a national language, although English remained the main medium for parliamentary debates and the language of instruction in schools and universities.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=139}} The historian Robert M. Maxon nevertheless suggested that "no national culture emerged during the Kenyatta era", most artistic and cultural expressions reflecting particular ethnic groups rather than a broader sense of Kenyanness, while Western culture remained heavily influential over the country's elites.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=142}}

====Economic policy====

Independent Kenya had an economy heavily molded by colonial rule; agriculture dominated while industry was limited, and there was a heavy reliance on exporting primary goods while importing capital and manufactured goods.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=83}} Under Kenyatta, the structure of this economy did not fundamentally change, remaining externally oriented and dominated by [[multinational corporation]]s and foreign capital.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|pp=90, 91}} Kenyatta's economic policy was [[capitalism|capitalist]] and [[entrepreneurial]],{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=84|2a1=Maxon|2y=1995|2p=115|3a1=Maloba|3y=2017|3p=6}} with no serious socialist policies being pursued;{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=208}} its focus was on achieving [[economic growth]] as opposed to equitable redistribution.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=85}} The government passed laws to encourage foreign investment, recognising that Kenya needed foreign-trained specialists in scientific and technical fields to aid its economic development.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|pp=157–158}} Under Kenyatta, Western companies regarded Kenya as a safe and profitable place for investment;{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=177}} between 1964 and 1970, large-scale foreign investment and industry in Kenya nearly doubled.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=85}}
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM President Jomo Kenyatta kijkt toe bij de keuring van stamboekvee tijdens de Eldoret Agricultural Show TMnr 20038663.jpg|thumb|left|Kenyatta at an agricultural show in 1968]]

In contrast to his economic policies, Kenyatta publicly claimed he would create a [[democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] state with an equitable distribution of economic and social development.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=91}} In 1965, when [[Thomas Mboya]] was minister for economic planning and development, the government issued a session paper titled "African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya", in which it officially declared its commitment to what it called an "[[African socialism|African socialist]]" economic model.{{sfnm|1a1=Ochieng|1y=1995|1p=83|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=64|3a1=Maloba|3y=2017|3p=77}} The session proposed a [[mixed economy]] with an important role for private capital,{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=520|2a1=Ochieng|2y=1995|2p=84}} with Kenyatta's government specifying that it would only consider [[nationalisation]] in instances where national security was at risk.{{sfnm|1a1=Ochieng|1y=1995|1p=84|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=64}} Left-wing critics highlighted that the image of "African socialism" portrayed in the document provided for no major shift away from the colonial economy.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=96}}

Kenya's agricultural and industrial sectors were dominated by Europeans and its commerce and trade by Asians; one of Kenyatta's most pressing issues was to bring the economy under indigenous control.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=85}} There was growing black resentment towards the Asian domination of the small business sector,{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=171}} with Kenyatta's government putting pressure on Asian-owned businesses, intending to replace them with African-owned counterparts.{{sfn|Savage|1970|p=521}} The 1965 session paper promised an "Africanization" of the Kenyan economy,{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|pp=64–65}} with the government increasingly pushing for "black capitalism".{{sfn|Savage|1970|p=521}} The government established the [[Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation]] to provide loans for black-owned businesses,{{sfn|Savage|1970|p=521}} and secured a 51% share in the Kenya National Assurance Company.{{sfn|Savage|1970|p=522}} In 1965, the government established the Kenya National Trading Corporation to ensure indigenous control over the trade in essential commodities,{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=64}} while the Trade Licensing Act of 1967 prohibited non-citizens from involvement in the rice, sugar, and maize trade.{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=521|2a1=Ochieng|2y=1995|2p=85|3a1=Maxon|3y=1995|3p=114|4a1=Assensoh|4y=1998|4p=64}} During the 1970s, this expanded to cover the trade in soap, cement, and textiles.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=64}} Many Asians who had retained British citizenship were affected by these measures.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=316|2a1=Arnold|2y=1974|2p=170}} Between late 1967 and early 1968, growing numbers of Kenyan Asians migrated to Britain;{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=114}} in February 1968 large numbers migrated quickly before [[Immigration Act 1971|a legal change revoked their right to do so]].{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=172}} Kenyatta was not sympathetic to those leaving: "Kenya's identity as an African country is not going to be altered by the whims and malaises of groups of uncommitted individuals."{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=172}}

Under Kenyatta, corruption became widespread throughout the government, civil service, and business community.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=215–216}} Kenyatta and his family were tied up with this corruption as they enriched themselves through the mass purchase of property after 1963.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=236–237}} Their acquisitions in the Central, Rift Valley, and Coast Provinces aroused great anger among landless Kenyans.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=241}} His family used his presidential position to circumvent legal or administrative obstacles to acquiring property.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=238}} The Kenyatta family also heavily invested in the coastal hotel business, Kenyatta personally owning the Leonard Beach Hotel.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=242}} Other businesses they were involved with included ruby mining in [[Tsavo East National Park|Tsavo National Park]], the casino business, the charcoal trade—which was causing significant deforestation—and the ivory trade.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=242–244}} The Kenyan press, which was largely loyal to Kenyatta, did not delve into this issue;{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=236}} it was only after his death that publications appeared revealing the scale of his personal enrichment.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=237–238}} Kenyan corruption and Kenyatta's role in it was better known in Britain, although many of his British friends—including McDonald and Brockway—chose to believe Kenyatta was not personally involved.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=246–247, 249}}

Despite Kenyatta's shortcomings on economic policy, compared with the economic performance of the vast majority of countries in independent Africa, Kenya's economic success during Kenyatta's tenure was outstanding. During the years following its independence in December, 1963, Kenya attained such a high rate of economic growth that it came to be widely regarded as something of an economic "miracle." According to World Bank figures, Kenya's economy attained an average growth rate of 6.4 percent per year from 1965 to 1980.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Lofchie |first=Michael F. |date=1990-05-01 |title=Kenya |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/curh.1990.89.547.209 |journal=Current History |volume=89 |issue=547 |pages=209–212 |doi=10.1525/curh.1990.89.547.209 |issn=0011-3530}}</ref> Among the 40 or more independent countries in sub-Saharan Africa, only 3 exceeded that growth rate; Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Botswana. Kenyatta's success can be attributed to his focus on the agricultural sector, particularly on cash crops such as tea and coffee.<ref name=":0" />

====Land, healthcare, and education reform====

[[File:Dr Banda of Malawi and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya.jpg|thumb|right|Kenyatta with Malawian President [[Hastings Banda]]]]

The question of land ownership had deep emotional resonance in Kenya, having been a major grievance against the British colonialists.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=195}} As part of the Lancaster House negotiations, Britain's government agreed to provide Kenya with £27&nbsp;million with which to buy out white farmers and redistribute their land among the indigenous population.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=196}} To ease this transition, Kenyatta made [[Bruce McKenzie]], a white farmer, the Minister of Agriculture and Land.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=196}} Kenyatta's government encouraged the establishment of private land-buying companies that were often headed by prominent politicians.{{sfn|Boone|2012|p=81}} The government sold or leased lands in the former White Highlands to these companies, which in turn subdivided them among individual shareholders.{{sfn|Boone|2012|p=81}} In this way, the land redistribution programs favoured the ruling party's chief constituency.{{sfn|Boone|2012|p=82}} Kenyatta himself expanded the land that he owned around Gatundu.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=316}} Kenyans who made claims to land on the basis of ancestral ownership often found the land given to other people, including Kenyans from different parts of the country.{{sfn|Boone|2012|p=82}} Voices began to condemn the redistribution; in 1969, the MP [[Jean-Marie Seroney]] censured the sale of historically [[Nandi people|Nandi]] lands in the Rift to non-Nandi, describing the settlement schemes as "Kenyatta's colonization of the rift".{{sfnm|1a1=Boone|1y=2012|1p=85|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=251}}

In part fuelled by high rural unemployment, Kenya witnessed growing rural-to-urban migration under Kenyatta's government.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|pp=124–125}} This exacerbated urban unemployment and housing shortages, with squatter settlements and slums growing up and urban crime rates rising.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|pp=125–126}} Kenyatta was concerned by this, and promoted the reversal of this rural-to-urban migration, but in this was unsuccessful.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=126}} Kenyatta's government was eager to control the country's trade unions, fearing their ability to disrupt the economy.{{sfn|Savage|1970|p=522}} To this end it emphasised social welfare schemes over traditional industrial institutions,{{sfn|Savage|1970|p=522}} and in 1965 transformed the Kenya Federation of Labour into the Central Organization of Trade (COT), a body which came under strong government influence.{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=523|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=91}} No strikes could be legally carried out in Kenya without COT's permission.{{sfn|Savage|1970|p=523}} There were also measures to Africanise the civil service, which by mid-1967 had become 91% African.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=113}} During the 1960s and 1970s the [[public sector]] grew faster than the private sector.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=118}} The growth in the public sector contributed to the significant expansion of the indigenous [[middle class]] in Kenyatta's Kenya.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=120}}
[[File:Universityofnairobi.jpg|thumb|left|The University of Nairobi, Kenya's first institution of higher education, was established under Kenyatta's administration.]]

The government oversaw a massive expansion in education facilities.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=110}} In June 1963, Kenyatta ordered the Ominda Commission to determine a framework for meeting Kenya's educational needs.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|pp=126–127}} Their report set out the long-term goal of universal free primary education in Kenya but argued that the government's emphasis should be on secondary and higher education to facilitate the training of indigenous African personnel to take over the civil service and other jobs requiring such an education.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=127}} Between 1964 and 1966, the number of primary schools grew by 11.6%, and the number of secondary schools by 80%.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=127}} By the time of Kenyatta's death, Kenya's first universities—the [[University of Nairobi]] and [[Kenyatta University]]—had been established.{{sfnm|1a1=Maxon|1y=1995|1p=127|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=147}} Although Kenyatta died without having attained the goal of free, universal primary education in Kenya, the country had made significant advances in that direction, with 85% of Kenyan children in primary education, and within a decade of independence had trained sufficient numbers of indigenous Africans to take over the civil service.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=128}}

Another priority for Kenyatta's government was improving access to healthcare services.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=132}} It stated that its long-term goal was to establish a system of free, universal medical care.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=133}} 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.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=132}} In 1965, the government introduced free medical services for out-patients and children.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=133}} By Kenyatta's death, the majority of Kenyans had access to significantly better healthcare than they had had in the colonial period.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=133}} 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.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=134}} This improved medical care had resulted in declining mortality rates while birth rates remained high, resulting in a rapidly growing population; from 1962 to 1979, Kenya's population grew by just under 4% a year, the highest rate in the world at the time.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|p=122}} This put a severe strain on social services; Kenyatta's government promoted [[family planning]] projects to stem the birth-rate, but these had little success.{{sfn|Maxon|1995|pp=123–124}}

====Foreign policy====

[[File:Roy Innis, Jomo Kenyatta, Doris Funnye Innis in Kenya Circa 1970.jpg|thumb|right|Kenyatta meets an American delegation from the [[Congress of Racial Equality]], including [[Roy Innis]].]]

In part due to his advanced years, Kenyatta rarely traveled outside of Eastern Africa.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=167}} Under Kenyatta, Kenya was largely uninvolved in the affairs of other states, including those in the [[East African Community]].{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=320}} Despite his reservations about any immediate East African Federation, in June 1967 Kenyatta signed the Treaty for East African Co-operation.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=175}} In December he attended a meeting with Tanzanian and Ugandan representatives to form the East African Economic Community, reflecting Kenyatta's cautious approach toward regional integration.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=175}} He also took on a mediating role during the [[Congo Crisis]], heading the [[Organisation of African Unity]]'s Conciliation Commission on the Congo.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=178}}

Facing the pressures of the [[Cold War]],{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=188}} Kenyatta officially pursued a policy of "positive non-alignment".{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=515}} In reality, his foreign policy was pro-Western and in particular pro-British.{{sfnm|1a1=Cullen|1y=2016|1p=515|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=96}} Kenya became a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]],{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=313}} using this as a vehicle to put pressure on the white-minority [[apartheid]] regimes in South Africa and Rhodesia.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|pp=167–168}} Britain remained one of Kenya's foremost sources of foreign trade; British aid to Kenya was among the highest in Africa.{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=515}} In 1964, Kenya and the UK signed a Memorandum of Understanding, one of only two military alliances Kenyatta's government made;{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=515}} the British [[Special Air Service]] trained Kenyatta's own bodyguards.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=54}} Commentators argued that Britain's relationship with Kenyatta's Kenya was a [[Neo-colonialism|neo-colonial]] one, with the British having exchanged their position of political power for one of influence.{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=514}} The historian Poppy Cullen nevertheless noted that there was no "dictatorial neo-colonial control" in Kenyatta's Kenya.{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=515}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F021917-0014, Kenia, Staatsbesuch Bundespräsident Lübke.jpg|thumb|left|Jomo Kenyatta and his son meet the [[President of Germany|President of West Germany]] [[Heinrich Lübke]] in 1966.]]

Although many white Kenyans accepted Kenyatta's rule, he remained opposed by white [[far right politics|far-right]] activists; while in London at the [[1964 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference|July 1964 Commonwealth Conference]], he was assaulted by [[Martin Webster]], a British [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]], at the [[London Hilton Hotel]].{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=296}} Kenyatta's relationship with the United States was also warm; the [[United States Agency for International Development]] played a key role in helping respond to a maize shortage in [[Kamba people|Kambaland]] in 1965.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=63–65}} Kenyatta also maintained a warm relationship with Israel, including when other East African nations endorsed Arab hostility to the state;{{sfn|Naim|2005|pp=79–80}} he for instance permitted Israeli jets to refuel in Kenya on their way back from the [[Entebbe raid]].{{sfnm|1a1=Naim|1y=2005|1pp=79–80|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2pp=190–193}} In turn, in 1976 the Israelis warned of a plot by the [[Palestinian Liberation Army]] to assassinate him, a threat he took seriously.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=172–173}}

Kenyatta and his government were anti-communist,{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=167|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=147}} and in June 1965 he warned that "it is naive to think that there is no danger of imperialism from the East. In world power politics the East has as much designs upon us as the West and would like to serve their own interests. That is why we reject Communism."{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=527|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=76}} His governance was often criticised by communists and other leftists, some of whom accused him of being a fascist.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=177}} When Chinese Communist official [[Zhou Enlai]] visited Dar es Salaam, his statement that "Africa is ripe for revolution" was clearly aimed largely at Kenya.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=177}} In 1964, Kenyatta impounded a secret shipment of Chinese armaments that passed through Kenyan territory on its way to Uganda. Obote personally visited Kenyatta to apologise.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=177|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2pp=59–60}} In June 1967, Kenyatta declared the Chinese Chargé d'Affairs ''persona non grata'' in Kenya and recalled the Kenyan ambassador from [[Peking]].{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=177}} Relations with the Soviet Union were also strained; Kenyatta shut down the Lumumba Institute—an educational organisation named after the Congolese independence leader [[Patrice Lumumba]]—on the basis that it was a front for Soviet influence in Kenya.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=160|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2pp=93–94}}

====Dissent and the one-party state====

[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM President Jomo Kenyatta staande in een landrover tijdens de opening van de Eldoret Agricultural Show TMnr 20038660.jpg|thumb|right|Kenyatta at the Eldoret Agricultural Show, 1968]]

Kenyatta made clear his desire for Kenya to become a one-party state, regarding this as a better expression of national unity than a multi-party system.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=314}} In the first five years of independence, he consolidated control of the central government,{{sfn|Boone|2012|p=84}} removing the autonomy of Kenya's provinces to prevent the entrenchment of ethnic power bases.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=18}} He argued that centralised control of the government was needed to deal with the growth in demands for local services and to assist quicker economic development.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=18}} In 1966, it launched a commission to examine reforms to local government operations,{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=18}} and in 1969 passed the Transfer of Functions Act, which terminated grants to local authorities and transferred major services from provincial to central control.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=19}}

A major focus for Kenyatta during the first three and a half years of Kenya's independence were the divisions within KANU itself.{{sfn|Gertzel|1970|p=32}} Opposition to Kenyatta's government grew, particularly following the assassination of [[Pio Pinto]] in February 1965.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=316}} Kenyatta condemned the assassination of the prominent leftist politician, although UK intelligence agencies believed that his own bodyguard had orchestrated the murder.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=68}} Relations between Kenyatta and Odinga were strained, and at the March 1966 party conference, Odinga's post—that of party vice president—was divided among eight different politicians, greatly limiting his power and ending his position as Kenyatta's automatic successor.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=161|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=105–106}} Between 1964 and 1966, Kenyatta and other KANU conservatives had been deliberately trying to push Odinga to resign from the party.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=70–71}} Under growing pressure, in 1966 Odinga stepped down as state vice president, claiming that Kenya had failed to achieve economic independence and needed to adopt socialist policies. Backed by several other senior KANU figures and trade unionists, he became head of the new [[Kenya Peoples Union]] (KPU).{{sfnm|1a1=Gertzel|1y=1970|1p=32|2a1=Savage|2y=1970|2p=527|3a1=Murray-Brown|3y=1974|3p=317|4a1=Arnold|4y=1974|4p=164|5a1=Assensoh|5y=1998|5p=67|6a1=Maloba|6y=2017|6p=108}} In its manifesto, the KPU stated that it would pursue "truly socialist policies" like the nationalisation of public utilities; it claimed Kenyatta's government "want[ed] to build a capitalist system in the image of Western capitalism but are too embarrassed or dishonest to call it that."{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|pp=99, 100}} The KPU were legally recognised as the [[official opposition]],{{sfn|Gertzel|1970|p=146}} thus restoring the country's [[two party system]].{{sfn|Gertzel|1970|p=144}}

The new party was a direct challenge to Kenyatta's rule,{{sfn|Gertzel|1970|p=144}} and he regarded it as a communist-inspired plot to oust him.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=98}} Soon after the KPU's creation, the Kenyan Parliament amended the constitution to ensure that the defectors—who had originally been elected on the KANU ticket—could not automatically retain their seats and would have to stand for re-election.{{sfnm|1a1=Gertzel|1y=1970|1p=35|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2pp=110–111}} This resulted in the [[1966 Kenyan parliamentary by-elections|election of June 1966]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gertzel|1y=1970|1p=35|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=111}} The Luo increasingly rallied around the KPU,{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=318}} which experienced localized violence that hindered its ability to campaign, although Kenyatta's government officially disavowed this violence.{{sfn|Gertzel|1970|p=147}} KANU retained the support of all national newspapers and the government-owned radio and television stations.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=119}} Of the 29 defectors, only nine were re-elected on the KPU ticket;{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=527|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=125}} Odinga was among them, having retained his Central Nyanza seat with a high majority.{{sfn|Arnold|1974|p=164}} Odinga was replaced as vice president by [[Joseph Murumbi]],{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=67}} who in turn would be replaced by Moi.{{sfnm|1a1=Assensoh|1y=1998|1p=67|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=138}}
[[File:Kenya.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=3:30|left|A British newsreel about Kenyatta's rule, produced in 1973]]

In July 1969, Mboya—a prominent and popular Luo KANU politician—was assassinated by a Kikuyu.{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=529|2a1=Murray-Brown|2y=1974|2p=317|3a1=Arnold|3y=1974|3p=166|4a1=Ochieng|4y=1995|4p=102|5a1=Assensoh|5y=1998|5p=67|6a1=Maloba|6y=2017|6p=135}} Kenyatta had reportedly been concerned that Mboya, with U.S. backing, could remove him from the presidency,{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=101}} and across Kenya there were suspicions voiced that Kenyatta's government was responsible for Mboya's death.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=67}} The killing sparked tensions between the Kikuyu and other ethnic groups across the country,{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=529|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=137}} with riots breaking out in Nairobi.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=318}} In October 1969, Kenyatta visited [[Kisumu]], located in Luo territory, to open a hospital. On being greeted by a crowd shouting KPU slogans, he lost his temper. When members of the crowd started throwing stones, Kenyatta's bodyguards opened fire on them, killing and wounding several.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=319|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2pp=140–143}} In response to the rise of KPU, Kenyatta had introduced oathing, a Kikuyu cultural tradition in which individuals came to Gatundu to swear their loyalty to him.{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1pp=529–530|2a1=Murray-Brown|2y=1974|2p=317|3a1=Ochieng|3y=1995|3pp=101–102|4a1=Maloba|4y=2017|4p=138}} Journalists were discouraged from reporting on the oathing system, and several were deported when they tried to do so.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=317}} Many Kenyans were pressured or forced to swear oaths, something condemned by the country's Christian establishment.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=318|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=139}} In response to the growing condemnation, the oathing was terminated in September 1969,{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=319|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=139}} and Kenyatta invited leaders from other ethnic groups to a meeting in Gatundu.{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=531|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=140}}

Kenyatta's government resorted to un-democratic measures to restrict the opposition.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=21}} It used laws on detention and deportation to perpetuate its political hold.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=23}} In 1966, it passed the Public Security (Detained and Restricted Persons) Regulations, allowing the authorities to arrest and detain anyone "for the preservation of public security" [[Indefinite detention without trial|without putting them on trial]].{{sfnm|1a1=Assensoh|1y=1998|1pp=22, 67|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=129}} In October 1969 the government banned the KPU,{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=531|2a1=Arnold|2y=1974|2p=191|3a1=Assensoh|3y=1998|3p=67|4a1=Maloba|4y=2017|4p=145}} and arrested Odinga before putting him under indefinite detainment.{{sfnm|1a1=Arnold|1y=1974|1p=191|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=67|3a1=Maloba|3y=2017|3p=145}} With the organised opposition eliminated, from 1969, Kenya was once again a ''de facto'' one-party state.{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=531|2a1=Tamarkin|2y=1979|2p=25|3a1=Boone|3y=2012|3p=84}} The [[1969 Kenyan general election|December 1969 general election]]—in which all candidates were from the ruling KANU—resulted in Kenyatta's government remaining in power, but many members of his government lost their parliamentary seats to rivals from within the party.{{sfnm|1a1=Savage|1y=1970|1p=531|2a1=Murray-Brown|2y=1974|2p=319}} Over coming years, many other political and intellectual figures considered hostile to Kenyatta's rule were detained or imprisoned, including Seroney, Flomena Chelagat, [[George Anyona]], [[Martin Shikuku]], and [[Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o]].{{sfnm|1a1=Ochieng|1y=1995|1pp=103–104|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=67}} Other political figures who were critical of Kenyatta's administration, including Ronald Ngala and [[Josiah Mwangi Kariuki]], were killed in incidents that many speculated were government assassinations.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=68}}

===Illness and death===

[[File:Jomo Kenyatta 1978.jpg|thumb|right|Kenyatta in the last year of his life]]

For many years, Kenyatta had suffered health problems. He had a mild stroke in 1966,{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=320|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=238}} and a second in May 1968.{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=516}} He suffered from [[gout]] and heart problems, all of which he sought to keep hidden from the public.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=239}} By 1970, he was increasingly feeble and senile,{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=103}} and by 1975 Kenyatta had—according to Maloba—"in effect ceased to actively govern".{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=282}} Four Kikuyu politicians—Koinange, James Gichuru, [[Njoroge Mungai]], and [[Charles Njonjo]]—formed his inner circle of associates, and he was rarely seen in public without one of them present.{{sfn|Ochieng|1995|p=102}} This clique faced opposition from KANU back-benchers spearheaded by Josiah Mwangi Kariuki. In March 1975 Kariuki was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered, and his body was dumped in the [[Ngong Hills]].{{sfnm|1a1=Ochieng|1y=1995|1p=103|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2pp=264–265}} After Kariuki's murder, Maloba noted, there was a "noticeable erosion" of support for Kenyatta and his government.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=274}} Thenceforth, when the president spoke to crowds, they no longer applauded his statements.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=274–275}}

In 1977, Kenyatta had several further strokes or heart attacks.{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=239}} On 22 August 1978, he died of a heart attack in the State House, Mombasa.{{sfnm|1a1=Tamarkin|1y=1979|1p=30|2a1=Kuria|2y=1991|2p=121|3a1=Maloba|3y=2017|3p=305}} The Kenyan government had been preparing for Kenyatta's death since at least his 1968 stroke; it had requested British assistance in organising his [[state funeral]] as a result of the UK's longstanding experience in this area.{{sfnm|1a1=Cullen|1y=2016|1pp=514, 517|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=311}} McKenzie had been employed as a go-between,{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=516}} and the structure of the funeral was orchestrated to deliberately imitate that of deceased British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]].{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=524}} In doing so, senior Kenyans sought to project an image of their country as a modern nation-state rather than one incumbent on tradition.{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=516}} The funeral took place at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, six days after Kenyatta's death.{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=518}} Britain's heir to the throne, [[Charles, Prince of Wales]], attended the event, a symbol of the value that the British government perceived in its relationship with Kenya.{{sfnm|1a1=Cullen|1y=2016|1pp=524, 526|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2p=314}} African heads of state also attended, including Nyerere, [[Idi Amin]], [[Kenneth Kaunda]], and [[Hastings Banda]], as did India's [[Morarji Desai]] and Pakistan's [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]].{{sfn|Maloba|2017|p=316}} His body was buried in a [[mausoleum]] in the grounds of the [[Parliament Buildings (Kenya)|Parliament Buildings]] in [[Nairobi]].{{sfn|Maloba|2017|pp=311–312}}

Kenyatta's succession had been an issue of debate since independence,{{sfn|Tamarkin|1979|p=22}} and Kenyatta had not unreservedly nominated a successor.{{sfn|Cullen|2016|p=516}} The Kikuyu clique surrounding him had sought to amend the constitution to prevent vice president Moi—who was from the [[Kalenjin people]] rather than the Kikuyu—from automatically becoming acting president, but their attempts failed amid sustained popular and parliamentary opposition.{{sfnm|1a1=Ochieng|1y=1995|1p=104|2a1=Maloba|2y=2017|2pp=279, 281}} After Kenyatta's death, the transition of power proved smooth,{{sfn|Tamarkin|1979|p=22}} surprising many international commentators.{{sfn|Assensoh|1998|p=29}} As vice president, Moi was sworn in as acting president for a 90-day interim period.{{sfnm|1a1=Kuria|1y=1991|1p=121|2a1=Assensoh|2y=1998|2p=67|3a1=Cullen|3y=2016|3p=521|4a1=Maloba|4y=2017|4pp=308, 309}} In October he was unanimously elected KANU President and subsequently declared President of Kenya itself.{{sfn|Tamarkin|1979|pp=30–31}} Moi emphasised his loyalty to Kenyatta—"I followed and was faithful to him until his last day, even when his closest friends forsook him"—and there was much expectation that he would continue the policies inaugurated by Kenyatta.{{sfn|Tamarkin|1979|pp=33–34}} He nevertheless criticised the corruption, [[land grabbing]], and capitalistic ethos that had characterised Kenyatta's period and expressed [[populism|populist]] tendencies by emphasizing a closer link to the poor.{{sfn|Tamarkin|1979|p=34}} In 1982 he would amend the Kenyan constitution to create a ''de jure'' one-party state.{{sfn|Kuria|1991|p=117}}