For decades, the death anniversary of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta was marked with military honours, church services and the presence of senior government officials. But the tradition has since faded, with the anniversary now observed quietly following a decision by the Kenyatta family to make it a private affair.
Kenyatta died on August 22, 1978, at 3:30 am while asleep at State House in Mombasa, bringing to an end the life of a man who had led Kenya from independence and remained one of the country’s most influential political figures.
His mausoleum at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi remains one of the country’s well-known landmarks. The site, which also bears a statue of Kenyatta, has come to symbolise the legacy of the founding President and the description, “Here lies a man that walked the country like a colossus.”
A mausoleum is an impressive building constructed to house a tomb.
The change in how Kenyatta’s death anniversary is observed dates back to 2019, when the Kenyatta family, through retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, announced that future commemorations would be held privately.
Speaking during a memorial service at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, Uhuru said the decision followed consultations with members of the family.
"As President, I have consulted with the family of Mzee Kenyatta. We have agreed together that this is going to be the last celebration of 41 years of Mzee in this manner," Uhuru said then.
The announcement brought an end to the public ceremonies that had for years accompanied the anniversary of Kenyatta’s death.
In the past, the occasion included a church service attended by the Kenyatta family, led by First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta, as well as the President and senior government officials.
The Kenya Defence Forces also held a wreath-laying ceremony, complete with a military parade, as part of the annual remembrance.
The military continues to guard Kenyatta’s mausoleum, although the site has never been opened to the public.
It is regarded as Kenyatta’s final resting place, while visiting Heads of State have, over the years, chosen to pay their respects there when they visit Kenya.
A file photo of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta and his son, Uhuru Kenyatta, the fourth President of Kenya
The final days
Kenyatta’s death came as a shock to the country, although there had been growing indications that his health was weakening and that he might not remain in power indefinitely.
In 1968, he suffered a stroke, prompting discussions among Kenyan politicians and the British government over who could eventually succeed him.
A 2016 article by Poppy Cullen published in the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History shows that the British government had prepared a contingency plan for Kenyatta’s state funeral as early as 1968.
"The plan covered a range of specific details including the timing and location of the funeral, the coffin, transport, lying-in-state, guests and burial," Cullen reveals.
According to Cullen, Bruce McKenzie, the only European minister in Kenyatta’s Cabinet, was given the task of presenting the plan to then Vice President Daniel Arap Moi, Defence Minister Njoroge Mungai and Attorney General Charles Njonjo.
At the time, a political campaign had also emerged among hardliners loyal to Kenyatta who wanted to block Moi from taking over the presidency.
The group, known as the Change the Constitution Movement and led by Kihika Kimani and Njenga Karume, pushed for a constitutional amendment that would prevent the Vice President from automatically succeeding the President if he became incapacitated.
Njonjo, however, was determined to ensure that power would pass peacefully and according to the law from Kenyatta to Moi.
He warned that it was treason to contemplate the death of a sitting President.
A file photo of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta
When Kenyatta eventually died, the funeral arrangements prepared by Britain had to be changed because the plans had not been properly communicated to many officials within the Kenyan government.
An initial proposal to bring an embalmer from Kenyons Ltd in England was dropped. The responsibility instead went to Frank Clayton, an English embalmer based in Kenya who had extensive experience.
"Frank Clayton had been superintendent of eight cemeteries in Nairobi for 20 years until 1968. As Clayton was not himself an embalmer, he turned to a colleague, Allan Sinclair, to assist," Cullen says.
Sinclair nearly failed to reach Kenya in time because he did not have a passport.
With earlier arrangements for a coffin unclear, Sinclair organised for a casket to be transported from Britain to Kenya.
British military officers also helped their Kenyan counterparts prepare for the state funeral, including providing equipment and guidance on procedures such as lying in state.
The funeral programme drew heavily from that of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was buried on January 30, 1965.
"Given that Kenyan policy-makers had asked to receive programmes from Churchill’s funeral, it appears that those organising the president’s funeral lifted the text almost entirely, editing only slight details," Cullen says.
Kenyatta was eventually laid to rest in an elaborate state funeral befitting his position as Kenya’s first President and one of the central figures in the country’s history.
Decades later, the ceremonies surrounding his death have changed, but the mausoleum at Parliament Buildings remains a visible reminder of the man whose leadership shaped Kenya’s early years as an independent nation.
