Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897 – 1978) was an anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its prime minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first president from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous head of government and played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. In 1947, he began lobbying for independence from British colonial rule through the Kenya African Union, attracting widespread indigenous support. In 1952, he was among the Kapenguria Six arrested and charged with masterminding the anti-colonial Mau Mau Uprising. Although protesting his innocence—a view shared by later historians—he was convicted. Upon his release in 1961, he led the Kenya African National Union party until his death. During his presidency, he secured support from both the black majority and white minority with his message of reconciliation. (Full article...)