How colonial jailers blocked attempts on Kenyatta’s life
Wananchi at a photo show dubbed Courage Exhibition, which was opened on October 19, 2015 ahead of Tuesday's Mashujaa Day celebrations. The exhibition is being hosted near the Kenya National Archives on Moi Avenue, Nairobi, and highlights stories of courageous individuals who paid a heavy price for Kenya. PHOTO | GERALD ANDERSON | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Records from the then Turkana district commissioner, Mr Leslie Whitehouse, reveal how the prisoners — including five of the now famous Kapenguria Six — had hatched a plot to harm Kenyatta by enlisting the services of a young Mau Mau scout, Kariuki Chotara, who had been transferred to the Lokitaung Prison.
Jeremy Murray-Brown’s biography of Kenyatta recounts an incident in 1956 when Kenyatta received Bishop Obadiah Kariuki, one of the first indigenous African bishops of the Anglican Church, who had preached against Mau Mau.
Interestingly, while Paul Ngei managed to remain within the Kenyatta administration, he was Mzee’s number one tormentor while they were in jail, according to records.
While serving a jail term in Kapenguria after the colonial government accused him of supporting and leading Mau Mau freedom fighters, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta once escaped an attempt on his life orchestrated by his fellow prisoners unhappy with the special treatment he was receiving.
Records from the then Turkana district commissioner, Mr Leslie Whitehouse, reveal how the prisoners — including five of the now famous Kapenguria Six — had hatched a plot to harm Kenyatta by enlisting the services of a young Mau Mau scout, Kariuki Chotara, who had been transferred to the Lokitaung Prison.
