The anniversary of Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, passing away in his sleep at State House in Mombasa on August 23, 2023, was marked.
Here at Waza News, we honour the pioneer by listing similarities with his son, who also became the 4th president of Kenya. Uhuru is the eldest child of Jomo and Ngina Kenyatta, his youngest wife.
Here are four of the most remarkable parallels between the two that prove how similar they are.
1. Both of them favour Swahili as a language.
Did you read this?
Uhuru has never held back when expressing his enthusiasm for the Swahili language, something his father first articulated many years ago.
The president admitted in 2013 that he only spoke English during his speech because of his visitors but would much rather do so in Swahili.
Uhuru stated, "I chose to speak in the English language and not our dialect because of our guests.
Years prior, his father had said the same thing: "Brothers, I believe I have talked enough in this language. I to aconversingrefrain from with you in a foreign language that also happens to be colonialistic.
2. Looks
The way Uhuru emulates his father should be used as official documentation, showing the two represent the ideal father and son ideals the nation should aspire to.
Nothing can ever deny that Uhuru is his father's son thanks to his broad face and penetrating eyes. Uhuru continues to look more like his dad as he approaches retirement age.
3. Non-Willingness to sign with countries that looked down upon Kenya
President Kenyatta is renowned for taking a solid stance on subjects that irritate him, and as things stand, he inherited the characteristic from his father.
When cases against him and his then-deputy William Ruto at the ICC were at their height in 2013, Uhuru made it clear that he would not appease those in the international community who looked down on the continent.
"Africa has matured. Africa looks for cooperative alliances. We will welcome collaborations based on mutual respect. Only partnerships that acknowledge our intellectual competence to compete on an equal footing will be accepted.
According to Uhuru, 50 years after gaining its freedom, Africa demands that its voice be heard.
In his inauguration speech 50 years prior, Jomo made a similar point: "Some of them have misunderstood us, and it's only by our actions that they will know we mean business."
4. Love for the bottle
Many Kenyans are already fully aware that, like his father before him, Uhuru has a special place in his heart for matters of the bottle.
The president's public demand for a costly gift—a bottle of scotch whiskey valued at Ksh 460,000—that the late Bob Collymore had kept for him but which was ultimately drunk by the late CEO's boys club solidified this assertion.
However, according to reports, Jomo loved whiskey so much that during his captivity in Kapenguria, colonizers attempted to kill him using it.
Three bottles of Scotch were given to Kenyatta every day, which he drank. He did not die from liver cirrhosis, as the British had planned.
