Origin and Nature of Regime:
Three main causes that produced Kenyatta’s authoritarian state:
Previous British colonization of Kenya incited massive rebellion against British rule and enabled Kenyatta to rise to power.
After decades of unrest, the Land and Freedom Army initiated militaristic rebellion against the British, known as the Mau Mau Rebellion.
It is unclear whether Kenyatta was directly involved in the Mau Mau Rebellion, however he took advantage of the situation as an outspoken Kenyan nationalist who had previously been sent to Britain as a representative of his party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), to relay grievances specifically regarding land rights for Africans to British parliament.
˚ During Mau Mau Rebellion, Kenyatta and many other African leaders were arrested by the British, further increasing Kenyatta’s appeal to Kenyans.
Even though Britain militarily defeated the Rebellion, it still relinquished control over Kenya and enabled open participation of African parties in 1960 elections.
˚ Kenyatta’s status within the KANU and his nationalist reputation won him the election of 1963 becoming prime minister after Kenya gained its independence.
One-party system solely governed by KANU under Kenyatta.
In 1964 when Kenya officially became a republic and Kenyatta became president, Kenyatta replaced the Majimbo Constitution established after independence with a constitution that returned more power back to the national government.
˚ This enabled KANU to more effectively suppress opposition parties.
The main opposition party, Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU), which supported decentralization of national governmental power, dissolved itself and the leaders joined KANU, leaving KANU as the sole political party of Kenya.
An attempt to end the one-party system in 1966 by a radical faction of KANU called the Kenyan People’s Union (KPU), led by Oginga Odinga resulted in state intervention whereupon the national government declared the KPU illegal, eliminating this opposition.
˚ KPU members and leaders were detained and elections were called in which KANU was the only option and Kenyatta fully established the one-party system.
˚ Kenyatta remained in power until his death in 1978.
Domination of government by the Kikuyu tribe, to which Kenyatta belonged, leading to corruption and preferential treatment.
Factionalism was a great aspect of Kenyan society, greatly determined by tribal allegiances, basically becoming the kikuyu and all non-kikuyu.
Kenyatta at times provided Kikuyu elite with unequally large amounts of redistributed land and also held the majority of governmental offices within the KANU party.
Kenyatta’s immediate aims as he rose to power were 1) redistribute traditionally tribal lands back to Africans, while maintaining peaceful and productive racial relations, and 2) promote African nationalism along with Kenyan self-sufficiency. 
During British colonization of Kenya, most of the traditionally tribal lands were given to white settlers based on the British belief that the settlers would facilitate economic and societal development of Kenya. Returning land rights to Africans was one of Kenyatta’s goals before he came to power, and once he was president he redistributed lands through negotiations with the British government to pay settlers for their lands. Settlers were able to leave Kenya on good terms, but he also allowed colonial residents to retain property rights.
˚ Kenyatta greatly stressed the necessity of cooperation between the races within Kenya to enable economic and general advancement of the country, as Kenyatta often addressed in his speeches.
Kenyatta first became actively involved in the movement for African nationalism when he helped to organize the Pan-African Congress in 1945 that took place in Great Britain. This congress was organized and attended by various other African nationalist leaders and intellectuals from across the world supporting and promoting African nationalism and unity.
Establishing Kenyan self-sufficiency was also a primary aim of Kenyatta’s when he rose to power, and he had the slogan “Harambee,” meaning “Let us all work together.”
˚ He promoted production and exportation of coffee and tea, naturally a focus on agriculture would have developed from the redistribution of land, and therein established industrial development.
˚ Economically, Kenyatta aimed to attract foreign investment and aid to develop economically. By the 1970’s Kenyan advancements led to the appearance of a small middle class.
˚ Social Welfare and education were additional focuses. Kenyatta identified ignorance as one of Kenya’s main enemies, and he therefore focused on education of the Kenyan public. Kenyatta initially spent a third of his budget on education.
Kenyatta’s ideology:
Pan-African nationalist movement- the resources, skills, and all other aspects of Africa should be used for the advancement, benefit, betterment, and enjoyment of African people.
Ideally entails equal sharing of resources, “food, clothing, homes, education, health care, wealth, land, work, security of life and happiness.”
Evoke and promote pride and respect for African way of life (completely initiated by African scholars and intellectuals).
Pan-Kenyan nationalist movement- to establish Kenya as a proud, independent and self-sufficient nation.
Necessity of Kenya’s diverse ethnicities and tribes to collaborate to advance Kenya.
Capitalism- Kenyatta supported the establishment of a capitalist economic system (important during this era because of the Cold War).
Adopted slogan of “African socialism,” but was a contradiction because he did not accept assistance from the Soviet Union, was pro-Western, and established capitalist system.
A wealthy, elite proprietor class developed as a result of financing Kenyatta accepted from British treasury and the World Bank.
Importance of education and promotion of intellectualism- Kenyatta himself was an intellectual and a scholar, however he created a contradiction, because his suppression of opposition hampered the development of intellectualism, for example on university campuses.
To what extent was Kenyatta’s rule totalitarian?
Kenyatta’s rule can be considered totalitarian to a minimal extent.
What is a totalitarian state?
Single-party state that has a monopoly over all aspects of society
Seeks to establish total destruction and then reconstruction of previous system
Terroristic (instilling fear and implementing indoctrination)
Radical ideology
Strong leader with the appearance
Achieved through revolution or arousal of the masses
Kenyatta’s regime was totalitarian only in the sense that Kenyatta was a strong leader as the head of a single-party state.
The elimination of opposition parties, for example the KPU in 1966, established a single-party system. This enabled Kenyatta to remain in office for an undefined amount of time, eventually his rule ended with his death in 1978, and also to exercise greater power due to the lack of opposition and the majority of Kikuyu in the government.
There is some evidence of pro-Kenyatta propaganda, however this is limited and it is not apparent that Kenyatta cultivated his public image.
Kenyatta did not come to power as a result of a revolution or arousal of the masses.
The Mau Mau Rebellion was headed by the Kikuyu, which was a large amount of the Kenyan population but cannot be considered to be the masses. Additionally, the rebellion was ultimately unsuccessful, defeated by the British, even though the British ultimately decided to relinquish their control over Kenya.
This also results in the conclusion that Kenyatta did not exhibit radical ideology, rather he adapted and built upon the existing system within Kenya instead of completely changing it.
Kenyata’s regime was not terroristic.
No evidence of indoctrination, rather it appears that Kenyatta greatly valued education and therefore spent many resources to develop and broaden public education.
No secret police or other organizations meant to intimidate the populace.
Extent of fear generated was the imprisonment of opposition leaders.
He also supported free-market, capitalist system, yielding no monopolies over industry.
This question assumes that Kenyatta was a totalitarian leader; however a more relevant question would be to what extent Kenyatta was an authoritarian leader.
Aspects that are aligned with authoritarian regimes:
˚ Kenyatta established centralized control by increasing the power of the national central government (and therein his personal power), but this was not achieved through revolution.
˚ Kenyatta preserved traditional values, desiring to cultivate nationalism and cultural pride, and he was also influenced by traditional tribal pressures.
˚ Strong leader figure (within Kenya and in other African countries)
˚ Repression of opposition.
˚ Goal to stabilize Kenya, but to also restore old institutions and traditions, specifically traditional, African cultural elements.
Establishment of Power:
Three methods used to establish power:
Kenyatta’s support for the nationalism movement in Kenya, opposing the British colonial rule, created a popular platform and national identity for himself among Kenyans as well as internationally.
Kenyatta is speculated to have contributed to the establishment of the Mau Mau rebellion, though he was not directly involved or a leader. This rebellion pushed the British, along with other international pressures, to grant Kenya its independence, which eventually enabled Kenyatta to capitalize upon his nationalist platform within KANU and become Kenya’s president.
Established himself internationally among other African nationalists, later leading to international reputation and power.
The promise of land redistribution made him very popular among Kenyans of all classes and tribes. Focusing on this issue benefitted his public support and his rise to power within KANU.
Ingratiated Kenyatta to poor Kenyans who received land, improving their social status (greatly based on the land ownership of the tribes).
Eventually led to corruption and preferential treatment through gifts of greater expanses of land to elite citizens and KANU supporters.
Kenyatta used tribal ties to the Kikuyu greatly to aid his influence and rise to power. His involvement in the KANU party, mostly made up of Kikuyu, facilitated his rise within national politics.
The kikuyu made up a great portion of the Kenyan population, and as a member of KANU, Kenyatta received support from much of the population by default as a result of his party loyalty.
Once he was president, Kenyatta still played on tribal ties to maintain power. He had to please many tribes, which often entailed bribery, and he promoted ethnic cooperation for the advancement of the nation.
Was Kenyatta left wing or right wing?
Kenyatta leaned more towards right wing politics:
What are right wing politics?
Support private property and capitalism, the idea that competition leads to economic advancement
Ability for upward mobility within society
What are left wing politics?
High state intervention and communism to redistribute wealth and establish equality
Based on communal values and cooperation of individuals to achieve the betterment of society
Kenyatta leans more towards right wing politics:
Kenyatta greatly valued the right to private property, redistributing land, previously owned by colonial settlers, and land rights to Kenyans as well as allowing settlers to retain land rights (even though he preferentially distributed lands). (right wing)
Kenyatta supported capitalism, accepting assistance from Western powers, while declining assistance from the Soviet Union, and also desiring to attract foreign investments through production of exports and industrial development. (right wing)
However, Kenyatta did support strong social welfare and education programs provided by the government, along with increased central national government control (left wing)
Nature of treatment of opposition: To what extent was this treatment successful? The treatment of opposition was successful to a great extent.
Kenyatta suppressed the opposing radical KPU party by banning the party and detaining its political leader Odinga, Kenyatta’s previous vice president.
People publicly promoting opposing views were also deported, for example when the national newspaper The Nation published articles contradicting the government practice of detaining people without trial, resulting in the deportation of one of the reporters.
The murders of Tom Joseph Mboya and Josiah Mwangi (JM) Kariuki are speculated to be political assassinations ordered by Kenyatta and his regime. JM Kariuki used to work closely with Kenyatta as his private secretary and the potential future successor of Kenyatta, but eventually began to speak out against the corruption, the widening gap between rich and poor, unequal distribution of land, and growing tensions in the East African community. Kariuki was brutally murdered, but no one was ever caught or punished for the crime.
This was one of various alleged assassinations of opposing political leaders.
These assassinations and the detainment of Odinga led to ethnic rifts between tribes.
The single-party system was maintained into the following regime after Kenyatta under Daniel arap Moi.
Extent to which suppression was not successful- Voter outcome was not high due to the elections in which KANU was the only party. This means that not necessarily the majority of the population supported KANU and Kenyatta. Opposition was only politically suppressed, no extreme means were taken to eradicate opposition at a smaller scale within society.
Domestic Policies and Impact:
How did structure and organization of the government assist authoritarian rule?
Manipulation of the Majimbo Constitution to weaken it and increase Kenyatta’s power led to the eventual replacement of the Majimbo with a new constitution in 1967 and enabled the single-party system and the abolishment of the senate that led to authoritarian rule.
Kenyatta’s increased power enabled him to legally make decisions without check from other branches of the government, like declaring the KPU illegal and suppressing other opposition parties.
Kenyatta’s position as a member of the Kikuyu tribe as well as its domination of the government during his regime greatly enabled the authoritarian rule.
As a party member of KANU as president, Kenyatta had a wide base of support from a large portion of the population and government, continuing to consolidate Kikuyu involvement in governmental positions while he was in power.
Support and like values throughout the government meant that there was little opposition within the Kenyatta regime, and when there was, it was eliminated (whether deported, assassinated, or banned as a group)
The main policy Kenyatta used to maintain his power was Kenyan nationalism. Nationalism embodies all of the smaller policies that Kenyatta strove to achieve and that enabled him to establish his power and control.
Nationalism justified Kenyatta’s at times oppressive actions and policies to the Kenyan populace, including the single-party system. Nationalism entailed the goal of self-sufficiency, tribal cooperation, and general development of the country
Kenyatta used his reputation from even before independence as a nationalist leader with foreign experience and impartiality towards ethnic biases within Kenya to strengthen his persona as Kenya’s president.
Nationalism drove economic and agricultural advancements for which Kenyatta was praised. It was also acted as justification for more extreme actions of Kenyatta’s regime, such as its treatment of opposition. There were policies that Kenyatta was criticized for; corruption became one such issue.
How did Kenyatta use art, media, education, or propaganda to influence the population?
Media- Kenyatta published his own newspaper during the colonial era in Kenya, before independence, called Muigwithania, “The Reconciler.” This newspaper acted as the Kikuyu Central Association’s “mouthpiece.” This influenced public opinion and was the preliminary actions to the movement the Kikuyu would initiate.
Media (newspapers) served as a tool with which to promote nationalism and rebellion against British colonial rule, which ultimately led to Kenyatta’s rise to power.
Otherwise, Kenyatta did not greatly interfere in the media, he valued free press, and there was no government or party newspaper through which to preach party values. Independent newspapers prospered and were not subject to censorship. Kenyatta speaches were broadcast to the nation and often promoted nationalistic values and interracial and interethnic collaboration (see audioclip in supplemental material section for reference).
ducation- initially devoted a third of the national budget to developing education in Kenya. Kenyatta believed that education and intellectualism was extremely important, which is logical considering his desire to establish Kenya’s self-sufficiency- in addition to economic and trade advancements and production from increased laborers and landowners, Kenya would also need to cultivate intellectuals to advance the country through science, technology, etc.
Supplementary materials:
Example of propaganda (pro-Kenyatta song):
Jomo son of Kikuyu is being
Tortured by the British
Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo son of the Kikuyu is being
Tortured by the British
Jomo Kenyatta
If we had war planes we would
Have dislodged the British
Jomo Kenyatta
If we had war planes we would
Have dislodged the British
Jomo Kenyatta
This song illustrates the extremely nationalistic reputation that Kenyatta acquired and cultivated during colonial British rule that he carried into his presidency of independent Kenya.
Audioclip of Kenyatta speech:
(taken from following article- “1963: Kenyatta to be Kenya’s first premier.” BBC News: On This Day 1950-2005. May 27, 2011. Web. Nov. 28, 2011.)
Works Cited:
Analyzing the Third World. Norman Provizer. Ed. Cambridge: Schenkman Publishing Company, Inc., 1978. 414. Print.
“Economic Freedom: Country Studies- Kenya.” Democracy Web: Comparative Studies in Freedom. 2010. Web. Nov. 28, 2011.
Historical Studies and Social Change in Western Kenya. William R. Ochieng’. Ed. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers Ltd. 2002.
“Kenyatta, Jomo.” Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators- From Napoleon to the present. 2006. Print.
“Kenyatta, Jomo.” Lives and Legacies- An Encyclopedia of People Who Changed the World: Government Leaders, Military Rulers, and Political Activists.2001. Print.
Nyangena, Kenneth O. “Jomo Kenyatta: An Epitome of Indigenous Pan-Africanism, Nationalism and Intellectual Production in Kenya.” AJIA. Vol. 6. 2003. 1-18. Print.
“Struggle for Independence/ Jomo Kenyatta.” Global Literacy Project, Inc. Web. Nov. 29, 2011.
“The Life and Times of Josiah Mwangi (J.M.) Kariuki.” Africa 24 Media Photography. Web. Nov. 30, 2011.
The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World. 2nd ed. Joel Krieger. Ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 463-464.Print.
Sites of pictures:
http://sfbayview.com/2009/malcolm-x-barack-obama-and-oginga-odinga/
http://www.kenya-advisor.com/kenya-history.html
