Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyattas death in 1978 brought to an end a political career that encompassed more than 50 years of African history Kenyatta entered politics in the mid1920s and then spent 17 years in exile in Europe He returned to Kenya in 1946 and was elected president of the nationalist movement the Kenya African Union Arrested and imprisoned in 1952 for allegedly leading Mau Mau he was released in 1961 and two years later became Kenyas first Prime Minister In power the man whom European settlers had once reviled as the leader to darkness and death was eulogized by them as a pillar of stability while former allies challenged him by creating a leftleaning political opposition Kenyatta weaves archival and contemporary images with interviews with friends and relatives comrades and opponents to create a biographical portrait of a key figure in 20th century politics and a case study of what Frantz Fanon called the pitfalls of nationalism as a political force in Africa