Leadership Lesson 5: Be Ready and Willing to Pay the Price
Great leaders are defined, not by the opportunities they are given, but by their response to adversity.
In 1952, Kenyatta was implicated in a plot called the Mau Mau Rebellion and was arrested with five others on the charges of “managing and being a member” of the radical anti-colonial “terrorist” Mau Mau Society. The accused were known as the “Kapenguria Six”. The months-long trial was a bullshit sham, of course, and lasted 5 months. Rawson Macharia, the main prosecution witness, turned out to have perjured himself; the judge — who was bribed, and maintained secret contact with the colonial Governor during the trial — was openly hostile to the defendants’ cause.
The defense, led by a British Lawyer, argued that the white settlers were trying to scapegoat Kenyatta and that there was no evidence tying him to the Mau Mau. The court sentenced Kenyatta on 8 April 1953 to seven years imprisonment with hard labor and indefinite restriction thereafter. The subsequent appeal was refused by the British Privy Council in 1954. Kenyatta remained in prison until 1959, after which he was detained in Lodwar, a remote part of Kenya.
The Mau Mau Rebellion had been crushed by the British Army, and the State of Emergency was lifted on 10 November, 1960. On 21 August 1961 Kenyatta was finally released, on the condition that he didn’t run for public office. Kenya defied the condition and ran anyway, using the British governments own one man-one vote law against them.
On 28 Feb 1960, a public meeting of 25,000 in Nairobi demanded his release. On 15 April 1960, over a million signatures for a plea to release him were presented to the Governor. On 14 May 1960, he was elected Kanu President in absentia. On 23 Mar 1961, Kenyan leaders, including Daniel arap Moi, later his long time Vice President and successor as president, visited him at Lodwar. On 11 Apr 1961, he was moved to Maralal with daughter Margaret where he met world press for the first time in eight years. On 14 Aug 1961, he was released and brought to Gatundu to a hero’s welcome.
By 1960 the British government had started to concede Kenyan rule, and in 1962 Kenyatta went to the Lancaster Conference in London to negotiate the terms of Kenya’s independence. In May 1963 KANU won the pre-independence election and formed a provisional government. When independence was achieved on 12 December that year, Kenyatta was prime minister. Exactly one year later, with the proclamation of a republic, Kenyatta became Kenya’s first president.
Like every other revolutionary that gained imortality, Kenyatta endured his incarceration without giving up his mission. Be prepared for the adveristy that is sure to accompany your rise to prominence. How you handle your crucifiction can mean the difference between success and failure.
Leadership Lesson 6: Beware The Fatal Flaw of Favoritism
Shortly after his release, elections were held , pitting Kenyatta’s Kenya African National Union- which advocated for Kenya to be a unitary state against KADU Kenya African Democratic Union- which advocated for Kenya to be an ethnic-federal state. KANU beat KADU by winning 83 seats out of 124. On 1 June 1963, Kenyatta became prime minister of the autonomous Kenyan government.
On 1 June 1964, Kenyatta was sworn in as President and immediately had Parliament amend the Constitution to make Kenya a republic with him as the head of State, head of Government, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
His policy was that of continuity and gradual Africanization of the government, keeping many colonial civil servants in their old jobs as they were gradually replaced by Kenyans. He asked for British troops’ help against Somali rebels, Shiftas, in the northeast and in ending an army mutiny in Nairobi in January 1964.
Kenyatta’s family and political friends had gained considerable wealth at the expense of the average Kenyan during his administration. Because of his favoritism, Kenya became a de-facto confederation of competing tribes instead of a unified country. Also, his resettlement of many Kikuyu tribesmen in the country’s Rift Valley province is widely considered to have been unfair to every other ethnic goup in Kenya.
Here in Black America, we see many organizations that claim to promote the good of the race, but that instead serve only a few favored cliques. The Nation of Islam accepts and helps only its own members to the exclusion of the rest of Black America. The NAACP has proved they are only interested in helping those that will provide them with “good PR”, as oposed to truly advancing the race. The fatal flaw of favoritism is the resulting resentment of the people, who find themselves excluded from the benefits given to those who neither need or deserve reward. Once this resentment reaches its tipping point, the masses revolt against these groups – sometimes violently.
True leaders must show themselves to be just and equitable. If you find yourself in a position of leadership, you should only show favoritism to your specific cause – not to your personal cliques.
United Black America tells the story of revolutionary African leaders like Jomo Kenyatta so that we may learn from their successes and mistakes in order to create a future United Black America. If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing or dropping us a comment.
Peace!
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