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Article: Kenyatta, Jomo
- Article from:
- International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences
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Kenyatta, Jomo
1893-1978
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jomo Kenyatta, also known as Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, is considered the founding father of the independent nation of Kenya. He became Kenya
’
s first prime minister (1963
–
1964) and first president (1964
–
1978). Acknowledged as a fascinating and courageous leader, his controversial life began when he was born to Muigai and Wambui as a member of the Kikuyu people. His birth name was Kamau wa Ngengi. His parents died while he was a young boy, and he spent time in his youth working with his grandfather, who was a medicine man steeped in the Kikuyu tradition. Kenyatta married his first wife, Grace Wahu, in 1920. They had two children, a ...