Editing Jomo Kenyatta (section)

===London: 1929–1931===
[[File:Jomo Kenyatta Apa Pant and Acheing Oneko.jpg|thumb|(l-r) Jomo Kenyatta, [[Apa Pant]], and [[Achieng Oneko]]]]
After the KCA raised sufficient funds, in February 1929 Kenyatta sailed from [[Mombasa]] to Britain.{{sfnm|1a1=Archer|1y=1969|1p=48|2a1=Murray-Brown|2y=1974|2pp=111–112|3a1=Berman|3a2=Lonsdale|3y=1998|3p=23|4a1=Maloba|4y=2018|4p=9}} Grigg's administration could not stop Kenyatta's journey but asked London's [[Colonial Office]] not to meet with him.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|pp=111–112}} He initially stayed at the [[West African Students' Union]] premises in [[West London (sub region)|West London]], where he met [[Ladipo Solanke]].{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=114}} He then lodged with a prostitute; both this and Kenyatta's lavish spending brought concern from the Church Mission Society.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|pp=118–119}} His landlord subsequently impounded his belongings due to unpaid debt.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=119}} In the city, Kenyatta met with W. McGregor Ross at the [[Royal Empire Society]], Ross briefing him on how to deal with the Colonial Office.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|pp=115–116}} Kenyatta became friends with Ross' family, and accompanied them to social events in [[Hampstead]].{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|pp=125–126}} He also contacted anti-imperialists active in Britain, including the [[League Against Imperialism]], [[Fenner Brockway]], and [[Kingsley Martin]].{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=117|2a1=Berman|2a2=Lonsdale|2y=1998|2p=24}} Grigg was in London at the same time and, despite his opposition to Kenyatta's visit, agreed to meet with him at the [[Rhodes Trust]] headquarters in April. At the meeting, Kenyatta raised the land issue and Thuku's exile, the atmosphere between the two being friendly.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|pp=116–117}} In spite of this, following the meeting, Grigg convinced [[Special Branch (Metropolitan Police)|Special Branch]] to monitor Kenyatta.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=117}}

Kenyatta developed contacts with radicals to the left of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], including several [[Communism|communists]].{{sfn|Berman|Lonsdale|1998|p=27}} In the summer of 1929, he left London and traveled by [[Berlin]] to [[Moscow]] before returning to London in October.{{sfnm|1a1=Beck|1y=1966|1p=318|2a1=Murray-Brown|2y=1974|2pp=118–119, 121|3a1=Maloba|3y=2018|3p=27}} Kenyatta was strongly influenced by his time in the [[Soviet Union]].{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=120}} Back in England, he wrote three articles on the Kenyan situation for the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]]'s newspapers, the ''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Daily Worker]]'' and ''Sunday Worker''. In these, his criticism of British imperialism was far stronger than it had been in ''Muĩgwithania''.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1pp=119, 120|2a1=Berman|2a2=Lonsdale|2y=1998|2p=17|3a1=Assensoh|3y=1998|3p=44}} These communist links concerned many of Kenyatta's [[liberalism|liberal]] patrons.{{sfn|Berman|Lonsdale|1998|p=27}} In January, Kenyatta met with [[Drummond Shiels]], the [[Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies]], at the [[House of Commons]]. Kenyatta told Shiels that he was not affiliated with communist circles and was unaware of the nature of the newspaper which published his articles.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1pp=121–122, 124|2a1=Maloba|2y=2018|2pp=22–23}} Shiels advised Kenyatta to return home to promote Kikuyu involvement in the constitutional process and discourage violence and extremism.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=122}}
After eighteen months in Europe, Kenyatta had run out of money. The [[Anti-Slavery International|Anti-Slavery Society]] advanced him funds to pay off his debts and return to Kenya.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=131}} Although Kenyatta enjoyed life in London and feared arrest if he returned home,{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=125}} he sailed back to Mombasa in September 1930.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=142|2a1=Maloba|2y=2018|2p=29}} On his return, his prestige among the Kikuyu was high because of his time spent in Europe.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1p=144|2a1=Maloba|2y=2018|2p=29}}

In his absence, [[female genital mutilation]] (FGM) had become a topic of strong debate in Kikuyu society. The [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches, backed by European medics and the colonial authorities, [[Campaign against female genital mutilation in colonial Kenya|supported the abolition of this traditional practice]], but the KCA rallied to its defence, claiming that its abolition would damage the structure of Kikuyu society.{{sfnm|1a1=Beck|1y=1966|1p=312|2a1=Murray-Brown|2y=1974|2pp=135–137|3a1=Frederiksen|3y=2008|3p=25}} Anger between the two sides had heightened, several churches expelling KCA members from their congregations, and it was widely believed that the January 1930 killing of an American missionary, [[Hulda Stumpf]], had been due to the issue.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|pp=134, 139}} As Secretary of the KCA, Kenyatta met with church representatives. He expressed the view that although personally opposing FGM, he regarded its legal abolition as counter-productive, and argued that the churches should focus on eradicating the practice through educating people about its harmful effects on women's health.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1pp=143–144|2a1=Berman|2a2=Lonsdale|2y=1998|2p=25}} The meeting ended without compromise, and [[John Arthur (missionary)|John Arthur]]—the head of the Church of Scotland in Kenya—later expelled Kenyatta from the church, citing what he deemed dishonesty during the debate.{{sfnm|1a1=Murray-Brown|1y=1974|1pp=145–146|2a1=Berman|2a2=Lonsdale|2y=1998|2p=25}} In 1931, Kenyatta took his son out of the church school at Thogota and enrolled him in a KCA-approved, independent school.{{sfn|Murray-Brown|1974|p=148}}