So you think you know everything about Jomo Kenyatta?

I thought I knew a lot about founding father Jomo Kenyatta. That was until I embarked on the research that went to my recently published book, Dark secrets of the Kenyan presidency.

This led me to wonder why nobody has never penned a biography of Jomo Kenyatta. Surely the man who was driving the engine when the train called Kenya steamed off from the train station for the first time deserves a detailed study. If nobody will I might just attempt this monumental task in the near future.

Meanwhile I just thought that it might be a good idea to share some of nuggets from the book here. Note that the book features a lot of material that was not published in my Weekend specials. If anything the weekend special was just a brief introduction when compared to the complete book. You can get further weekly updates on new ongoing research that I plan to add to the next print run of the book by subscribing to my email newsletter on the subject. The email address to enable you to do this is at the end of this post;

Kenyatta promised church elders never to touch alcohol?
…Jomo had stopped taking alcohol in 1920 (32 years earlier) and announced his decision before witnesses. Actually he was accused by the church of marrying without Church rites and drinking liquor. He pleaded guilty to both and promised to reform. He was further ordered to get married before a European magistrate. The strict church then finally accepted him back in 1923 (after about 3 years of carefully observing him) and in being accepted back at a ceremony Jomo promised to refrain from liquor for the rest of his life.
It would appear that his life looked up considerably after he stopped taking alcohol. For instance he turned part of his Dagoretti home into a provision shop, he called Kinyata Store. Then in 1922 he went on to secure a job at Shs 250 per month as stores clerk and water meter reader with Nairobi Municipal Council where John Cook his protégé at the church was Water Superintendent. The colonials considered Kikuyus thieves and murderers in those days and this kind of profiling prevented many of them from getting jobs that required very trustworthy people like a stores clerk or meter reader. There is little doubt that the only reason Kenyatta got this opportunity was because of John Cook and his link with the church at Thogoto for a long time.
Kenyatta bought a motorbike and also built a house at Dagoretti in the same year (1922). He went on to start an active role in politics by becoming a member of the Kikuyu Central Association in the same year. Interestingly the meter-reading job exposed Kenyatta considerably and he met many Asians who would later be key allies and supporters including the owner of the printing press who went on to print his newspaper, Mwigwithania.
With this kind of background it is not surprising that in his speech he spoke out so strongly against the taking of alcohol.
So the question we must busy ourselves with now is how did this meek old church man turn into the feared president everybody remembers? Young folks change all the time but Kenyatta was at least 68 years old when he became Kenya’s first prime Minister. How does such an old man change from what he has been all his life?
The answer is shocking…

Andwhat about this one…

Bizarre tale of witchcraft
But there is another bizarre story often told in whispers that suggests that Kenyatta was ordained to be a leader long before the 1950s started to unfold. It is a tale so far out and strange that I cannot resist telling it.

It all has to do with Kenyatta’s third wife Grace Wanjiku who died while giving birth in 1950 to her daughter Jane Wambui, who survived. Kenyatta had married her in 1946 and she was the daughter of Senior Chief Koinange and sister to Mbiyu Koinange, who later became a lifelong confidant and was one of the most powerful politicians during Kenyatta's presidency. It is whispered that…

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Kiplagat now sounding very ridiculous
Apparently Bethuel Kiplagat has hired a Public Relations firm to enable him and the TJRC receive more public acceptance. Either this firm is bogus or Kiplagat is not listening to them. The man sounds so ridiculous and so desperate to hang on to the chairmanship that it is almost funny. Only that he is wasting valuable taxpayers money and time since it is clear that the TJRC will NOT be able to fulfill its’ mandate with the old white haired man’s hands firmly and desperately grasping the chair. Even if you hire 100 PR outfits Kiplagat's image will NOT change. Poor man, after years of building respect in the international community as a diplomat, that reputation has now all flown through the window with this one bold stroke of genius from him of deciding not to resign.

Kiplagat does not need a PR firm to be told that the best thing would have been for him to step aside and then defend himself against allegations when he is OUT. As it is he looks very guilty sweating it out answering reporter’s questions.

Go home and rest Mzee, you are fighting a battle you can never win. How do you fight the masses and public opinion? Certainly not with Kifua bwana!!

See this Kumekucha classifieds for air conditioning services in Nairobi and how you can be an editor.