Jomo Kenyatta is elected Prime Minister of Kenya

Date: 27 May 1963
Updated: 27 May 2022

Jomo Kenyatta was elected Kenya’s first Prime Minister, in 1963, following that country’s independence from Britain. In 1964 he became the first President of the Republic of Kenya. A few years earlier, Kenyatta had been sentenced to hard labour and was restricted following his arrest in 1952 related to allegations of his complicity in the Mau Mau rebellion. He was released on 14 August 1961.

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01Page E.M. (2003), Colonialism: An International, Social, Cultural and Political Encyclopaedia, p.313
02 Kisangani F.E. & Bobb S.F. (2010), Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Congo, (Scarecrow Press), p.475

Last updated · 27 May 2022

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Jomo Kenyatta is elected Prime Minister of Kenya. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011984

South African History Online (2011) 'Jomo Kenyatta is elected Prime Minister of Kenya', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011984 (Accessed: 2 October 2026).

South African History Online, Jomo Kenyatta is elected Prime Minister of Kenya [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011984, (accessed 2 October 2026).

"Jomo Kenyatta is elected Prime Minister of Kenya." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011984. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Jomo Kenyatta is elected Prime Minister of Kenya." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011984.