This book is the first systematic political history of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's founding president. The first of two parts, it explores Kenyatta's formative years in nationalist activism in Kenya and Britain, the complex links between colonial and British intelligence services and Kenyatta's career and the political compromise he forged between Kenya and Britain. This book draws on primary sources to analyze this compromise, which marked his transformation from "leader to darkness and death" to the most beloved post-colonial African leader in the West.

Uses Kenya as a model for exploring neocolonialist movements in twentieth-century Africa Explores the history of nationalism and security movements in both Britain and Africa Appeals to both historians and political scientists and policy analysts of sub-Saharan Africa

Autorentext

W. O. Maloba is Chair and Professor of the Department of Black American Studies and Professor of History at the University of Delaware, USA.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Two Trips and Petitions to the Center of the Empire.- 3. Spying on Political Activism.- 4. Pan Africanism, Discussions on Strategy for Liberation, Marriage and Surveillance.- 5. Back Home: Politics of Nationalism, Mau Mau, Prison and Surveillance.- 6. "Let Jomo Go": Defining and Framing a Symbol.- 7. The Search for Alternatives.- 8. The Turning Point: Kenyatta and Malcolm MacDonald.