Umesoma?

Seen some historical errors (like reference to Waiyaki wa Hinga and Koitalel arap Samoei as mzungu appointed paramount chiefs) but overall it's an okay easy read.(so far)

When you see someone who has been hiding in the US writing about SGR, you just doubt everything about the writing. I will go through it but signs of sensationalism are quite evident. Ati Koitalel

Stop twisting. Am just saying this guy is no point of authority, his writing is based on hearsay and political propaganda. We need to move away from having politicians manipulating our thinking.

Sasa angalia umeanza compositions and bringing up people who are not involved. Point of authority is someone like James Comey. Someone in the mix. Hearsay ni porojo tu

Sensationalism tupu

I agree. Sad that he puts all the blame for Kenya's problems on the okuyo. Even the mess in the nyayo error is placed on the okuyo. By the way who is the Kamisi (petticoat) guy who wrote the book coz he is very petty? He surely lives up to his name.

For most of his third 5-year term, Kenyatta’s health was failing and the
inevitable was expected at any given moment. As he weakened, the Kikuyu
political barons and captains of industry became increasingly alarmed after
sensing that Moi, “a man one of them described as ‘having posho (corn meal)
for brains,’ might become president.

The man who was ignored and often humiliated by a section of high-ranking
Kikuyu elites and dismissed by the
British government as “shallow and rather unreliable,” was sworn in as the
acting President by Chief Justice Sir James Wicks.

The British who had been watching Moi all along did not have much
respect for him partly because of his “precarious hold on the loyalties of his
own people (the Kalenjin), his incompetence as an administrator, and his
intellectual shortcomings…... "he is very unsophisticated by world standards.
In some ways, he remains a primitive from the outback.”

While Kenyatta left professionals relatively free to handle issues of
national governance so long as they did not challenge his overwhelming
powers…Moi was intrusive in the running of government affairs. He insisted
on knowing everything taking place in government ministries. He was farmer number
one; and teacher number one. While Kenyatta ‘killed’ KANU because he saw
no need for it, Moi built it into a strong machine of intimidation and
manipulation.

"I call on all Ministers and Assistant Ministers and every other
person to sing like parrots,” he remarked sternly. “During Mzee
Kenyatta’s period, I persistently sang the Kenyatta tune until some
people said: ‘This fellow has nothing to say except to sing for
Kenyatta.’ “Therefore, you ought to sing the song I sing, If I put a
full stop you should put a full stop,” he said in 1984.

In England, Kenyatta was identified with great Pan-Africanists of the
time like W. E. B. Du Bois, George Padmore, among others, and had the
charisma, force of personality and dedication to push the cause of equality
and justice for all. His association with Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and
Kamuzu Banda of Malawi, helped reshape – at least to a certain degree – his
political thinking.

He engaged in street protests and attended almost every
political rally that took place in London to agitate for Africa’s emancipation.
Kenyatta was among those who prepared the landmark Fifth Pan-
African Congress in Manchester in 1945 which demanded an end to colonial
rule and abolition of racial discrimination.

He made one trip home in 1930
but returned to England in 1931 where he stayed until 1946. By the time of
his final return to Kenya, Kenyatta’s popularity had soared. He joined the
Kenya African Union (KAU) and toured areas beyond the Kikuyu enclave,
addressing public meetings in Mombasa, Nyanza, and the Rift Valley until
his arrest on 21 October 1952 on charges of managing Mau.

Jomo Kenyatta was stern but jolly, the kind of person any man would
want to have as a father-in-law. He was dignified, smartly-dressed and had
the demeanor of a ‘king.’ After becoming President, his trademark was a
fresh red rose and a badge of a cockerel, the symbol of the ruling party
KANU, neatly pinned on the lapel of his designer suit jacket. He laughed
loud and heavy and when seated leaned on his cane, his big ring glittering in
the sunshine.

In Africa and the world, the first Kenyan President was viewed as a Pan-
Africanist rubble-rouser and freedom fighter. At home Kenyans called him
“Mzee” (Wise Old Man), a title of reverence reserved only for respected old
men. He had a commanding presence and poise, and a charisma that was
enormous and adorable.
Kenyatta had an extraordinary personality. His character was
complex and enigmatic as a national leader. One was struck by the
force of his personality that he could project especially through his
eyes while addressing a gathering. He was a spectacular public
speaker who employed powerful imagery and proverbs. With his
elephant-skin headed stick and his gold ring, with his fly-whisk that
he occasionally flipped through the air to acknowledge greets and
cheers, Kenyatta curved for himself an image far beyond that of
ordinary human beings. He was a leader with interesting patterns of
social discourse and configuration of character.”

Glenn W. Ferguson who served as the American Ambassador to Kenya
between 1966 and 1969 said Kenyatta had a presence that was magnetic and
an appearance that was electrifying, and mannerisms that were unique in
enhancing his charisma, even though during the first four years of his rule
he eroded the power of Parliament to check the presidency, transforming the
former into “a puppet of the executive.”
He was like a presidential “monarch…” but he was not an autocrat,
much less a tyrant.”