Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta African social activist and politician; the first Prime Minister (1963–1964) and first President (1964–1978) of an independent Kenya; born Kamau wa Ngengi, he was baptized John Peter in 1914, later changing his name to Johnstone Kamau, and finally to Jomo Kenyatta.

• "I have no intention of retaliating or looking backwards. We are going to forget the past and look forward to the future." (1964)
• "When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the Land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught us how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible."
  • This has also been attributed to Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
• "Some people try deliberately to exploit the colonial hangover for their own purpose, to serve an external force. To us, Communism is as bad as imperialism." (1964)
• "Don't be fooled into turning to Communism looking for food."
• "The basis of any independent government is a national language, and we can no longer continue aping our former colonizers ... those who feel they cannot do without English can as well pack up and go." (1974)

Unsourced

• "The European condemns the Africans for having two wives yet he keeps two mistresses"